Old Fashioned Fresh Blackberry Cobbler

We are reaping in the berries right now. If there were three more of us, we would still not have enough people to pick the gorgeous blackberries and dew berries before they fell off of the vine. I have decided to do my part in making sure that they are not wasted and use them as often as possible. There is not much to do about blackberries now a days. While thumbing through my favorite cook book, The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis, she says it perfectly, "Everyone seems to have forgotten how delicious blackberries were - if they ever knew." The recipe that follows is for 'Compote of Stewed Blackberries'. Prior to this cookbook, I hadn't ever heard of such a thing. I have not made it yet, that will follow this week though I am sure. About Edna Lewis, if you get a chance take a look at Tony Tipton Martin's post about Edna Lewis on her blog called The Jemima Code. On a side note, I have fallen in love with this blog. I am so glad that information like this is left even after someone decides to move on to another project. I have learned so much clicking through the pages of this blog dedicated to mini autobiographies of African American women chefs.

I did decide to try my hand at her 'Fresh Blackberry Cobbler'. {I really do highly recommend that you pick up a copy of this book.} I am still shocked at how easy it is to cook from scratch. This recipe was ridiculously easy and one I will be ashamed to not keep made all blackberry season. Delicious! Although not at all what I expected... I am used to the super sweet and syrupy open topped 'dropped dough' style cobbler. This old fashioned one used little sugar and so there was ample opportunity to use a sweetened cream whipped topping. This is certainly going to be available at our road side stand as a suggestion to our buyers on what to do with their ABSOLUTELY AMAZING BERRY MIX {this Friday 3 - 6 o'clock in Batesville}.

Fresh Blackberry Cobbler

{my notes}

The cobbler was baked in a large, deep baking pan with a delicious crust made from home-rendered lard and baked to a gold brown, with syrupy juice spouting through the pierced top as the berries cooked. It was served warm with delicious juice from the berries spooned over the top.

Pastry

2 cups sifted unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup lard

1/3 cups cold water

1 cup crushed cube sugar

1/4 cup light cream {or milk}

Filling

5 cups blackberries {I suggest another 2-3 cups for a thicker filling.}

4 thin slices butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar {My mother suggests 1 to 1 1/2 cups for a more syrupy filling.}

2 t cornstarch

8 x 8 x 2 inch baking pan

Sift the flour and the salt into a large mixing bowl. Blend in the lard with your fingers. When it is well blended and fine grained {like cornmeal}, sprinkle all the water in at once, and draw the dough together quickly, shaping it into a ball. Divide in half and let stand for a few minutes. After it has rested {about 2 minutes}, put one half in the freezer and then roll out the other piece and line the baking pan. Sprinkle 2 or 3 tablespoons of the crushed sugar over the dough, cover with wax paper, and set it into the refrigerator (or freezer) until you are ready to fill it, along with the other piece of dough. {For a pretty cobbler, roll it out bigger than the dish and let the edges hang over the edge. I just rolled mine big enough to fit the bottom of the dish in the photo above. I think it gives it an unmistakable 'homemade' look. Ha!} {Gather the ingredients for the filling and prepare your berries while the dough sits} When you are ready to assemble the cobbler, remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out the top crust. Remove the pastry-lined pan from the refrigerator and fill it with berries, distributing them pieces of butter and sprinkling over the 3/4 cup granulated sugar mixed with the cornstarch. {I was done here, I am definitely not a pastry chef with patience for 'pretty'.} Wet the rim of the dough in the pan and place the top pastry over, pressing down all around to seal and trimming away excess {like a pie}. With the handle of a dinner knife, make a decorative edge and then cut a few slits in the center to allow steam to escape. Brush the top with a thick brush of cream and sprinkle on the remaining crushed cube sugar. Place in a preheated 450 oven and when the door is shut, turn down to 425 to bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and set on a rack to cool a bit before serving.