Texas-Style Blueberry Cobbler (from Cook's Country)

The current (August/September 2011) issue of Cook's Country featured a recipe that looked too good to not try.   The recipe in question, Texas-Style Blueberry Cobbler, was so obviously wonderful, and the pictures so mouthwatering, that the editors chose to feature that dessert on the cover. 


Photo from CooksCountry.com

 Having made it, I can now say that this cobbler is every bit as delicious as it looks on that magazine cover.

Most cobblers feature lots of fruit under a biscuit or crumb topping.  This version is quite different.  As the recipe author, Rebeccah Marsters, describes it, "in the Hill Country region of central Texas, the same word applies to a very different dessert, one with a moist, tender interior and a crisp, craggy top.  As the cobbler bakes, the fruit (which starts out on top) sinks and forms juicy pockets throughout."  Though Texas cobbler is more often made with peaches, this version features blueberries to delicious effect. 

Technique-wise, this is pretty simple to make.  The berries are coursely mashed along with a touch of sugar and lemon zest, some butter is melted directly in the baking dish by placing it in the preheating oven, then the batter is poured directly atop the hot, melted butter.  The berries are then dolloped atop the batter, the whole thing is sprinkled with more sugar and lemon zest and then it's tossed into the oven to bake for about 50 minutes. 

The baked cobbler is nicely golden-brown on top, and more heavily browned (and pleasantly crisp) along the edges, thanks to the melted butter.

My cobbler didn't end up looking quite like the one shown in the magazine illustrations.  Instead of a craggy crust with valleys of blueberry filling, the filling in mine mostly sank to the middle and bottom of the pan, with the top having completely covered the filling in all but a few spots.  I'm not sure why this happened - perhaps it has something to do with the kitchen having been so hot - but it didn't take a thing away from the flavor.  This was easily the best cobbler I've ever had.  It is wonderfully moist and rich, full of buttery and fruit flavors.  Served up with some vanilla ice cream, it made for a wonderful dessert, one I'm certain to make again.  I'll probably give it a try with some other fruit, too, including peaches.