Mixed Berry Cobbler with Pie-Crust Topping
Founder Debbie comes from a long line of excellent bakers. Here's one of her stories about baking and her young life, "It was important to our Mother that we attend a private Christian School while we were at least in grade school. Since there was not enough money from Dad's pay check to pay for tuition, Mom went to work in the fields. We worked in the fields like many kids back in the 60’s, earning money for school clothes, and Mom was earning money for our tuition. Our Mother was a “Boss”, which made more money than just picking fruits and vegetables. She worked in the strawberry, bean, peach, blackberry, and cherry fields at nearby farms. Because there was no day care available, we went with her. My sister 3, I was 5, and my brother was 7. Well, as you can imagine, we didn’t get much done, except my brother who was older and under a little pressure to make some money; he had to produce. Since my sister and I were so young, we mostly played until we got old enough to work on our own and earn money to buy school clothes. In later years, my sister actually ended up being a “Bean Boss”. Now that is another story (LOL). Regardless, we did benefit from the berries, peaches or cherries my Mom brought home from the fields. Sometimes she would make a fresh strawberry pie, or bake a cherry or blackberry pie that was absolutely delicious. However, when she was not up to baking a pie, she made cobblers. A cobbler took lot less time and work than a pie, but was really a special treat!Going through her old recipes, I found a handwritten note for a basic berry cobbler. She always used her wheat pie dough recipe for the topping. So I decided to re-create her cobbler recipe, which was pretty easy to do, and use Inspiration Bakery and Mixes Pie Crust Mix for the pie crust topping.My husband and I were pleasantly surprised when our mixed-berry cobbler came out of the oven, pie crust dollops intact, (unlike other biscuit dollops I made on top of casseroles that just melted into the casserole).The smell of the cobbler permeated throughout our home, which so reminded me of when Mom would bake. While it was still warm, we sat right down and ate two large servings topped with whipped cream. Using the pie crust as the topping turned out amazing. I have to say I was pretty impressed with the results. Yumm!!!Find more recipes like this in Debbie's Cookbook for Charity and her new cookbook coming out with lots of great recipes for Breads, Pastries, Pies and of course Cakes.
Equipment
- Oven
- Dry Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Liquid Measuring Cup
- Wire Whisk
- Mixing Bowls (3--two medium, one small)
- Spatula
- Pastry Cutter or Fork
- 9" by 9" Baking Pan
- Spoons (large and medium)
Ingredients
Mixed Berry Base
- 4 1/2 Cups Berries of Your Choice (fresh or frozen)
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice (fresh)
- 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
Berry Thickener
- 3 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar
- 3 Tablespoons Cornstarch
Pie Crust Topping
- 1 Bag Inspiration Bakery and Mixes Pie Crust Mix
- 2/3 Cup Butter or Margarine (refrigerate until used)
- 1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream or Milk of Your Choice
- 1 Egg
- 1/2 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Cinnamon-Sugar Sprinkle
- 1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar
Optional Pairings
- Ice Cream
- Whipped Cream or Whipped Cream Substitute
Instructions
Berry Mixture
- In a bowl, mix your berries with the granulated sugar and lemon juice.
- In a small bowl, prepare your berry thickener (sugar and cornstarch) by whisking together.
- Add your sugar-cornstarch thickener mixture to the berry-sugar mixture and stir until evenly mixed.
- Pour your berry mixture into your 9" by 9" baking pan. Use your spatula to clean the bowl out into the pan. Spread the mixture out evenly
Pie-Crust Topping
- Preheat your oven to 350° F.
- Put your Inspiration Bakery and Mixes Pie Crust Mix into a mixing bowl.
- Remove our butter or margarine from the refrigerator and, with a sharp knife, cut it into tiny cubes. Add your butter or margarine to the pie crust mix.
- Using a pastry cutter or fork, blend the pie crust mix and the butter or margarine cubes together until it develops pea-sized pieces. Do not blend vigorously. You want crumbly small pieces.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk your heavy whipping cream or other milk, egg, vanilla extract, and apple cider vinegar together.
- Pour your wet mixture over your pie crust and butter or margarine mixture and gently stir just enough to get the dough wet. Do not blend vigorously. You still want to retain the small pea-sized pieces.
- Use a spoon to scoop out pie dough and drop random dollops of dough over the top of the berry mixture. You should be able to see the berry mixture between the dough dollops. Use up all of the pie-crust dough.
- In a small bowl or cup, blend up your cinnamon-sugar sprinkle. When done, sprinkle the mixture over the tops of the pie-crust dough dollops.
- Put your Mixed Berry Cobbler in the oven and bake for 50-55 minutes, until the berry mixture bubbles up. Remove and let rest for 10 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream, whipped cream, whipped cream substitute. Enjoy!
