Bestest Cherry Cobbler

set oven at 350 F.

1 stick unsalted butter, melted in a 9x13 oblong pan

Homemade Cherry Pie Filling

 4 c. fresh picked cherries / store-bought cherries, pitted
2/3 c. white sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp. almond extract

2 Tbsp corn starch

Cake Batter

1 1/3 c. flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 eggs

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 c. sour cream

1/2 tsp cinnamon

milk

Whipped Cream

3/4 c. whipping cream

1/4 tsp almond extract

dash of cinnamon

1/2 tsp sugar

Place the pan in the oven with the butter and let it melt.  While that's melting, make the cherry sauce.  Cut the cherries in half, place them in a medium saucepot with the sugar, lemon, almond, vanilla.  Cook over medium-low hear.  Once its bubbling, stir in the corn starch.  Remove from heat and let cool

While its cooling make the batter.  Place the flour, powder, salt, brown sugar, eggs, sour cream in a mixing bowl and begin blending.  Add milk to thin it out to a thick, pourable consistency.  Should require 1/2 c to 3/4 c. of milk

Once the batter's blended up and the butter's melted, take the hot pan out of the oven.  Pour the batter into the pan, trying to displace the melted butter evenly.  Then pour the cherry filling (which should be loose, pourable and somewhat thick like sauce) over the top.  

Bake at 350 F for 30-35 min, or until the cake in the middle is firm.

Huckleberry Buckle

Huckleberries are hard to get, but they're delicious when you can get them and afford them.  The first time I got to try them was because a friend picked some up at a farmer's market in July in eastern Washington.  I don't know how much he was exagerating but he said each serving of the buckle ought to cost $5.  That implies perhaps $20 for a 3 c. bag of berries.

The optional lemon juice works best on blueberries.  Huckleberries are like very potent-tasting blueberries and their a fair bit tarter. 

For those that don't want to bother or can't get huckleberries, blueberries work wonderfully.

1/4 c. butter
1/3 c. white sugar
1 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. sour cream
3/4 c. milk
2 1/2 c. huckleberries
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 cup boiling water
optional: 1 tbsp lemon juice

Oven @ 375° F
Butter a 9x9 baking pan.

Cream the butter and 1/3 c. of sugar.  Mix in the dry ingredients.  The mixture should be crumbly.  Blend in the sour cream.  Gradually add the milk until you have a smooth batter.

Spread the batter evenly into baking pan.

Put the berries into a saucepot, and add the 1/2 c. of water and the 1/2 c. of sugar.  A tbsp of lemon juice works well here if you want the fruit tarter.  Cook on stove until the berries have burst and it's got a deep red color and foamy consistency.  Pour this over the batter in the pan. 

Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Peach Cobbler, Old Fashioned

1 stick butter

1 1/2  cup of all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of sugar, divided in half
1 1/2 tablespoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cup of milk

6 c. sliced peaches, fresh or frozen
2 tablespoon of lemon juice

Oven @ 375°F
If using fresh peaches, scald them for 1 minute in boiling water, and cool in cold water.  Peel the skins off.  Slice up the peaches and mix the peaches with 3/4 c. sugar and the lemon juice. 

Put the stick of butter in a 9x13 glass baking pan and put in the oven to start melting. 

Put peaches and sugar mixture in a medium sauce pot and begin cooking on medium heat.  Stir frequently.  This gets the peaches to exude peach juice which will flavor the cobbler crust.

While the butter melts, and peaches cook, mix the batter.  Mix all dry ingredients first.

When the butter is melted, remove from oven.  The peaches should be cooked well enough to produce a lot of juice.  Mix the milk into the dry batter ingredients.  It should be the consistency of pancake batter. 

Pour the batter into the baking pan and melted butter.  As the batter drizzles into the pan, move it around so the butter is displaced and runs in and around the batter.  Lastly, gradually pour or spoon into the batter the peaches and juice.  Try to distribute the juice and peaches evenly.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Fruit Cobbler - Based on Grandma's

Cobbler, in my experience is a scrambled pie.  I've heard the meaning of the name refers to the batter bubbling up through the surface of the fruit and liquid and forming cobblestone-like features.  This is sort of true with this recipe.  Grandma's was a lot like that.  My auntie makes a great cobbler, but she uses store-bought pie crust and layers that.  Somehow it just doesn't jive.  Dad would disagree though; he loves auntie's cobbler more than any I've made.
Ingredients:

1 stick of butter in a dutch oven

Batter:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 c. buttermilk

Fruit:
8 c. fruit
3/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice

Oven @ 350 F.

Put the dutch oven in the oven with the butter and let it melt.  Check periodically, remove once melted, or else it will start burning.  Reduce heat to 300 F.

Prepare the fruit (chop, hull, peel, pit, etc), add the sugar and lemon, stir and set aside in a bowl.

Put all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and whisk till evenly blended.  Add the buttermilk and mix until you have a pour-able batter.  If it's too thick add a little more buttermilk.

Pour half of the batter into the dutch oven, evening coating the bottom of the pan.  Add half of the fruit, spooning it with the liquid over the top of the batter.  Add the remaining batter on top of that as a second layer, then spoon the remaining fruit over top.  Pour any excess juice over top as well.  Cover with dutch oven lid and bake at 300 F for 1 hour.