American Cuisine all too often is solely looked at for it’s Processed and Fast Food side. I’ll have to agree that YES America is the leader in Processed/Fast Foods but one reason is that American culture in many ways fosters the bigger, better, quicker, easier route to get from point A to point B. Sometimes that’s a good way to live. Sometimes it’s not. And most times we can alter that pattern LIKE….cooking from ingredients that are not pre-made for you. Here’s how I create my recipes, I use my head, my 57 years of cooking, eating, reading, traveling and take that and place it into my kitchen and create. Then, when I’m ready to actually make something on the spot or have been planning on and commit it to this blog for you to follow I research my cookbooks and online as many recipes as I can to see if I’m still on the right track. Only then do I title a recipe. Cobbler is an American dessert that falls into that CONFUSING C WORD category..Crumbles, Cobblers. Here’s what I’ve come up with..Cobbler is a flour based batter poured over sweetened and sliced fruits baked in a buttered pan. They are easy. The most laborious part is peeling and slicing the fresh fruit. It’s also a wonderful “pantry” recipe. Chances are, the fruit being the variable, you have all the ingredients in your pantry at all times. 
Apples!! That’s what’s in the pantry this time of year. APPLES! Delicious baked in treats all year long but PARTICULARLY in the FALL/WINTER.
This cobbler is my version of a very easy and basic American dessert.
The farm markets are heady with their scent. So….let’s buy a few and make an APPLE COBBLER.
SERVES: 8 TIME: just under 1 hour start to finish
FRUIT BASE:
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour or cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 cups sliced peeled firm tart apples (4-5 apples)
- 1/2 tsp Lemon zest
- 1 tbs. fresh lemon juice (throw those bottles of lemon juice away!!)
BATTER TOPPING:
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tsp for the top
- 11/2 teaspoons baking powder (check the expiry date on your BP, it might be time for a new one)
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted then cooled to room temperature
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tbs. sour cream
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- butter for greasing the pan
- plain fine breadcrumbs for lining the bottom of the pan
Pre Heat the oven to 35- degrees F. In an 11X7 rectangular baking pan lightly grease the bottom and sizes with butter. Dust the bottom of the pan with dry plain breadcrumbs. Set aside. In a large bowl mix all the Ingredients in the FRUIT BASE portion of the recipe. Pour into the pan.
Beat together all the wet ingredients of the Batter Topping part of the recipe except for the milk. Then Sift together all the dry ingredients. Stir 1/2 the dry into the wet.. When it’s combined stir in the milk. When combined stir in the rest of the dry. When combined stop stirring and pour over the top of the fruit base. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar lightly, then into the oven for 30-35 minutes, rotating it once 1/2 way thru. Test to see if the topping is done by poking the center with a toothpick. Do not let it go thru to the fruit. If if comes out clean, you are done. If not at this point 5 more minutes should do it.
Sometimes the baker doesn’t cover all the fruit!!! Shame on him !! (ok, that was me)…But this is what your APPLE COBBLER should look like!! Serve in a few ways, warm (BEST!!!) topped with Vanilla Ice Cream, or sour cream, or whipped Cream…some sugar crystals or Raw sugar crystals, and when warm a drizzle of Maple Syrup (pure)…it’s heaven.. Room Temperature is ok too…Ice cold out of the fridge, not so good…the cold temperature masks all the flavors.
Happy Baking…Happy Eating…Happy Sharing!!
A FOOD OBSESSION 