Recipes

Strawberry Cobbler

I can think of few more vivid memories than the smell of hot, sweet strawberries mingling with fresh butter wafting through my Granny’s kitchen. Topped with a flaky, biscuit-like crust, this cobbler makes a toothsome dessert topped with sweet cream or home made vanilla ice cream.

Makes 12 Servings

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch or Clear Jel® food starch
2 quarts strawberries
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Cobbler pastry (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar

Preheat the oven to 425° F. Mix the 1 cup sugar, flour and cornstarch or Clear Jel together. Pour over the strawberries and toss them all together. Pour the berries in a 9 inch by 13 inch baking pan. Dot the top with butter.

Lay seven strips of pastry lengthwise across the top of the berries leaving about 1/4 inch space in between each strip. Lay seven more strips of pastry across the top of the pastry already in the pan either along the width of the pan or on the diagonal to create a lattice look. Brush the pastry lightly with cream and sprinkle with the tablespoon sugar. Bake at 425° F for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 375° F and bake for about 45 minutes more or until the filling is bubbly and the crust a nice golden brown.

Pastry
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2/3 cup buttermilk

Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and stir them all together. Cut the shortening into the dry ingredients until it resembles a coarse meal. Add the buttermilk a little at a time tossing it gently to combine it with the dry ingredients. Add a few more drops of buttermilk if it seems too dry. Do not over mix the dough so handle it gingerly. Press the dough together and place on a floured pastry board. Dust the top with flour and roll out to 1/4 inch thick (that is thinner than you think) lifting the dough and flouring underneath it as you roll. Cut the dough into 1 inch wide strips and as long as you need them to fit the pan.