Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Strawberry Cobbler

Strawberry Cobbler.
-Southern Belle Taste-
For 3 consecutive weeks, I made a fruit cobbler each weekend.  First up was a Blackberry Cobbler.  I had never made one before because I had no need to!  My parents have a blackberry vine along the pasture fence beside their home, and each spring/summer we would always pick gallon buckets of blackberries.  We would wash them off and drive them up to grandma's house so she could make Blackberry Cobblers.  Ooooo, the best!

So, I called grandma and got her recipe for the Blackberry Cobbler.  It was so simple, but grandma reassured me of one thing, "Anytime you make a fruit cobbler, make sure you cook your fruit on the stove before baking in the oven in the pie crust."  And boy, I tell you, I have definitely tasted the difference between uncooked apples in apple pies vs. cooked apples in apple pies.  A world of a difference!

After making the Blackberry Cobbler, which I succeeded with it tasting just like Grandma's, I made a Peach cobbler the 2nd week with fresh peaches my mom had frozen for me and the exact same recipe grandma gave for the Blackberry Cobbler.

Well, the 3rd weekend, hubby wanted me to make a Strawberry Cobbler like his grandma would make. I have never heard or tasted a Strawberry Cobbler, so I did not know what to expect.  I simply went by the same ingredients and instructions that grandma gave me for the Blackberry Cobbler.  Hubby confirmed that the Strawberry Cobbler was a hit and that it tasted like his grandma's!  (I was sooooo happy!) However, for me, I would prefer the Blackberry Cobble over any cobbler.  Here is what I did.

INGREDIENTS

Pie Filling
2 1/2 to 3 cups of sliced strawberries
1/2 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 to 1 Tbsp cornstarch (dissovled in equal ratio of water...refer to package instructions)

Crust
2 cups of flour
3/4 cups of Crisco shortening
1 tsp salt
Ice cold water

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Crust
1. First, make your crust. There are a lot of crust recipes out there, but this one hasn't failed me yet. In a mixing bowl, I combine the 2 cups of flour and salt.  Then, I dump the 3/4 cups of Crisco in and use my fingers to combine the flour with the Crisco. Many recipes say to cut the Crisco into the flour with butter knives, but that's for the bird watchers.  After all mixed, it should resemble cornmeal.  One tablespoon at a time, add ice cold water to the mixture to form a dough. It may take 4 tablespoons of water.  Roll dough into a ball and divide into two balls.  If you have time to refrigerate the dough balls, it helps when rolling out the crust.  If not, dash flour on the counter and roll out a ball for the bottom layer of your pie. Once rolled, place in pie dish. Roll the other ball out and save to top your pie. Refrigerate both while preparing pie filling.

Pie Filling
2. In a medium saucepan, bring your strawberries and water to a boil. Let boil for about 5-7 minutes.  Add sugar. Let boil for another 5 minutes. Add nutmeg, vanilla, and butter.  Mix and do not let stick.  Add cornstarch/water mixture. Let thicken slightly.

3. Pour pie filling into pie crust. Top pie filling with pie crust either by simply placing the rolled out crust on top or doing a pie lattice. For assistance on completing a pie lattice, refer to YouTube.  Howdini has an easy one.  To prevent the crust edges from browning, cover with foil.

4. Bake pie in oven 50 minutes to an hour.

5. Let slightly cool (but not too much because warm cobbler is soooo good) and enjoy with a scoop of ice cream!


Blackberry cobbler w/ a scoop of ice cream.
-Southern Belle Taste-