mixed berry cobbler

this mixed berry cobbler really hit the spot. i let it reheat in the sun for a few hours while we chatted and lingered over dinner at my parents house. the extra time in the heat with a lid on rendered the normally crisp top a little soft, which ticked me off a little. -until i realized that i reminded me of a yummy pudding, then i was ok with it. we had mammoth sized slices with vanilla ice cream, and it was really amazing.

the top of this cobbler tends to be quite crisp, unless you leave the lid on after baking. it is quite delicious and cakey, with a big hit of almond. the purple juice from the berries bubbles up the sides and peek through the crust top.

as i mentioned in my previous post, i have been foraging for berries lately, mulberries around town and blackberries in my own backyard. i also stocked up on blueberries and black raspberries from a local farm. i prefer sugary tasting berries for eating raw, and sweet-tart berries for cooking. if you think your berries aren’t quite tart enough to stand out in a baked good, simply add a tbsp of lemon juice per 2 cups of berries to play up the flavor of the berries without making them taste like lemon.

we ate the whole dish, in one sitting, so if you have more than 6 people double the recipe and use a larger dish. i mean it. big portions of this thing are the way you want to go. this dish is way easy to pull off, and is super healthy. bake these all summer to celebrate the tasty fruits and berries that are everywhere for the next few months.

mixed berry cobbler

ingredients

3 cups washed berries- i used blueberries, mulberries, black raspberries, and blackberries

2 cups almond flour

1/4 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup butter, soft

drop of almond extract

3 tbsp flax-meal whisked with 9 tbsp warm water, allowed to plump up for 5 minutes

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (to be added last)

method: begin by macerating berries for a few hours, or overnight, by mashing half of them and stirring really well. sprinkle a little sugar or honey over, even a tbsp will do. i let them sit overnight on the counter top to release juices and self-sweeten. this also allows the pectin to activate properly come baking time, so the juice thickens a little when the berries get hot. now is a fine time to add a little lemon juice if you wish.

preheat oven to 350f. grease an 8×8 glass dish. pour the berries in., reserving a few berries for the top if you wish.

whisk the almond flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl.

separately, whisk together butter, honey, and extract.

mix wet and dry ingredients together, stirring in the flax egg. once well combined, quickly stir in cider vinegar.

pour batter onto berries, spreading up to the edges.

bake for 40 minutes, or until batter is set on top. this happens to vary in my house, sometimes taking 50 minutes.

cool uncovered before serving.

enjoy the bounty of delicious berries the summer has given us!

cherry cobbler

new and improved! well, the improvement is in the variation. i bought what some may consider a surplus of traverse city dark cherries. some may argue that these are “eatin” cherries, not meant to be baked, sweetened, seasoned, cooked, or put with anything else. they are meant to be enjoyed as is, sweet and juicy on their own, without messing with a good thing.

i will argue back that i can do what i want with my cherries, and i’m glad i did. i didn’t add any sugar to the cherries when i threw them in. the only preparation they required was pitting… an hour of messy, slippery, red-stained pitting. it was actually really therapeutic. i used about 2 1/2 cups pitted, whole cherries.

anyhow, this is the same as my blueberry cobbler for the most part. the only difference is that per brian’s request, we added an extra tbsp of coconut flour so it wasn’t so “sloppy”. i am of the school that a cobbler should be very sloppy, saucy, drippy, even wet. what really counts is that the top pastry of the cobbler is spongy and ready to soak up the fruityness. adding the extra tbsp of coconut flour did the trick, though i think it turned out more like a cake or boyfriend bait than anything else. i’ll leave it up to you to decide whether you’d like a saucy bottom or a cakey one. again, i prefer the saucy bottom.

we threw a big thud of whipped cream on top, and called it dessert. delicious, sweet, addictive dessert.

do you know how to make whipped cream? you get some heavy cream or whipping cream, add sweetener, i use honey, to your taste, pour it all into a cold bowl (put it in the freezer for 10 minutes) and whip with either electric mixer or by hand. viola.

cherry cobbler

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 cup coconut flour (sifted)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup room temp butter

1/2 cup milk

4 eggs

2 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

2 cups or more pitted cherries (if using frozen, do not thaw)

1/4 cup sugar for sprinkling on top of cobbler

method: preheat oven to 350f. butter a 9×9 glass baking dish. position one rack in center of oven, and the other rack at the second from the top.

with mixer, cream together butter and sugar until well mixed.

once batter is well combined and fluffy, add milk, vanilla, and almond extract (if using it) at a low-speed. add eggs, a few at a time, and let it slowly mix.

combine all dry ingredients together.

add dry ingredients into wet ingredients. mix until all ingredients are well combined.

layer some of the batter into the bottom of the prepped dish. i use 1/3 of the batter for this part.

throw the cherries on top, gently pressing them into the batter.

spread the rest of the batter on top. use rubber spatula to press the batter into the nooks and crannies of the cherries.

sprinkle sugar evenly on top. i use a combo of large grain sugar and regular fine grain sugar.

bake for 30 minutes, then carefully move to the high rack. don’t let it jiggle too much!

continue to bake for 20-30 minutes, until top is crusty and brown.

pull it out of the oven and let it cool for a while. don’t cover, the top will get a little soggy.

*cook’s note: i made peach cobbler this weekend using the same recipe. i cut up 6 super ripe peaches, and it was the perfect amount. this turns out much more juicy than berries do, since more of the juicy part of the fruit is exposed. it was delicious. i prefer it to any other cobbler i’ve had yet.

blueberry cobbler

sparkley blueberry cobbler

my husband and i have been planning on going to a camp-away night at a friend’s to celebrate the 4th of july. fireworks, burgers, drinks, swimming,.. you get the point. i had been so excited at the idea of sleeping in our new tent and relaxing with a few glasses of wine that it caught me completely off guard when he asked me “what do you want to take?”… to anyone out there who knows me, you know how excited at the prospect of this question i get. “what i should bring” is ALWAYS on my mind! even when i don’t have any social events planned! i have a list of desserts just waiting to answer this question, they are the tricks up my sleeve. so normally, i have a very fast answer, and usually it is something very well planned out.

this time, it had escaped me at all that i would even have the opportunity to bring something. i had one day to come up with something! what sick excitement washed over me!

brian wanted something “american”. i believe what he meant to say was patriotic, or at least maybe he meant in the color theme of our nation’s flag. instantly, we spouted out things like “strawberry! blackberry! blueberry!”. after deliberating, we decided that the blueberries that brian’s coworker had been bringing us would be the perfect star for our sweet treat. (we asked her for 2 cups, she gave us 7 cups!) what’s more american than a blue dessert? traditionally speaking, a pie would be the most appropriate thing to make for the 4th. but this is america, and i can do what i want. so i made cobbler.

i sprinkled the top with sugar to form a nice crunchy crust on top of the berries. the base is sweet, buttery & soft, with a wonderful nutty flavor to accentuate the blueberries. the blueberries are both pressed into the base and sprinkled on top of the dessert, creating thick layers of tender, sweet amazingness… all topped with a sugar crust. the top is nice and crunchy, the inside is moist and cakey, studded with bursting berries. use a pinch less milk in the batter if you prefer a less moist cobbler. i begin this in the center rack, then finish at the top rack of my oven to get a nice crispy top.

this cobbler is irresistable. the ingredients are staples in every gluten-free kitchen, so you are likely to have everything already. this is a simple recipe to follow, with nutritious ingredients. also, it is delicious. if you really care about your friends and family, you will rush to make this before the weekend is through!

i would love to see some different variations on this cobbler with different fruits. any fruit would be wonderful here, but i think peach and cherry will be something special to look forward to as the summer moves along. a pinch of ginger would be great mixed in with the fruit to brighten it up a bit, too!

sneak...

blueberry cobbler

serves 9-12.. or 1..

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 cup coconut flour (sifted)

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup- 1 full cup sugar, pending taste

3/4 cup room temp butter

1/2 cup milk

4 eggs

2 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

2 cups fresh blueberries -washed, dried, and set aside

1/4 cup sugar to top blueberries

method: preheat oven to 350f. butter a 9×9 glass baking dish. position one rack in center of oven, and the other rack at the second from the top.

with mixer, cream together butter and sugar until well mixed.

once batter is well combined and fluffy, add milk, vanilla, and almond extract (if using it) at a low-speed. add eggs, a few at a time, and let it slowly mix.

combine all dry ingredients together.

add dry ingredients into wet ingredients. mix until all ingredients are well combined.

pour 3/4 batter into prepped baking dish. sprinkle most of the blueberries on the batter, pressing them down into the batter.

pour remaining batter on top of the blueberries, then spread the rest of the blueberries on top of that. sprinkle sugar evenly over berries and batter.

bake for 30 minutes, then carefully move to the high rack. don’t let it jiggle too much!

continue to bake for 20-30 minutes, until top is crusty brown and edges pull away from sides slightly.

let it cool for a bit before scooping a huge piece out. this would be great with some vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.

cook’s notes:

1. here is a secret that no one knows: i demolished this. i mean, i ate almost a third of it. we took it to a party, and no one could figure out where it all went so quickly. it was all blamed on this nice woman who was standing over it in the kitchen with a big spoon, exclaiming “i’m in heaven, oh god”… i said “she must have eaten it all.” she didn’t. i slinked away with my empty plate, my teeth stained blue. i ate 1/3 of it, and i’m not sorry.

2. i took this to my parent’s house this weekend, and my dad asked me if i used yellow cake mix….? i think that’s a compliment?..?…