Blueberry Cobbler

This recipe is adapted from one by the same name in Jane Brody’s Good Food Book. I agree with Ms. Brody who notes “I am so fond of blueberries straight from the box that I hate to use them for cooking. However, this easy desert, which takes only about 10 minutes to prepare for baking, is so delicious and universally adored that I am more than willing to donate a pint of berries to it.” I first made this on a Maine cruise from local wild berries; while the smaller berries are by far the best, the larger ones work too. This becomes an even more adored desert on cold nights on the boat when the oven warms the cabin. (To cook on-board using an alcohol oven, preheat oven to highest temp/550 degrees F, then back off to low when cobbler is placed in the oven to prevent burning the bottom of the cobbler.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F or, to achieve the crispy, brown “boat oven” effect, preheat oven to 450 degrees F and REDUCE to 350 degrees F ten minutes after the cobbler is placed in oven (cook for a total of 40 minutes).

In a medium bowl combine:

2/3 cup all purpose white flour
1/2 cup white/raw sugar
1½ t baking powder

Set aside and start preparing  the pan so that the pan is ready as soon as wet and dry ingredients are mixed:

In a 9 inch diameter x 1 inch (or any pan of approximately equivalent area) melt

2 T butter (I sometimes use as little as 1 T, but it is best with 2 T)

Then mix into dry ingredients (Careful, don't forget the pan in the oven and burn butter while mixing ingredients!):

2/3 c skim milk

and stir until batter is smooth.

Take the pan out of the oven and tilt so butter evenly coats botton and sides of pan, then pour batter into pan. and sprinkle over the top

2 cups blueberries, cleaned and washed

(NOTE: I often use Wylers/Whole Foods frozen wild blueberries or berries I have frozen myself and sometimes increase quantity from 2 to 2 1/2 cups; for best results thaw and drain berries before use.)

Bake cobbler in 350 degree F oven (see notes in the introduction RE: alternate cooking method) for 40-45 minutes or until it is lightly browned.

February 2011:  It turns out some of my oldest posts are the ones lacking photos, so when I made Blueberry Cobbler last night I took photos. As luck would have it, this is about the only time the cobbler has not finished with a uniform covering of blueberries.  As luck would also have it, I had a series of photos to help me determined what went wrong --- unless it's that I didn't completely smooth the batter - I'm not sure what happened.  See August 2013 photo below for a more typical cobbler.

March 2011: HIGH ALTITUDE COBBLER:  When we were in Colorado recently, I used high altitude flour and adjusted this recipe for the altitude (- 1 T sugar, - 1/4 t baking powder, + 2 T milk).  The resulting cobbler had berries on the bottom and almost a complete crust on top.  It was also much easier to remove from the pan and place on a serving plate.  Interestingly enough, when I later made the cobbler at `6,000 feet using the original recipe, the results were similar to the "high altitude recipe", berries on the bottom, crust on the top.

August 2013:  It is cold and raining, and we are anchored in Buckle Harbor (off Swan's Island, Maine) with 2 quarts of freshly picked Maine blueberries in our galley.  Perfect time to light the flame in our alcohol stove, make a cobbler and warm the cabin!







Reviewed 5/22/2017