Cobbler Recipe
I had a request for my cobbler recipe that I posted a few posts back so here goes. My personal notes are at the end.
Sour Cherry Cobbler
Biscuit Topping
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
1 cup buttermilk
Filling
4 (24-ounce) jars Morello cherries, drained, 2 cups reserved
3/4 – 1 cup sugar (your taste preference)
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Pinch salt
1 cup dry red wine
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1. Adjust your oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. For the Biscuit Topping: Pulse flour, 6 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in food processor until combined. Scatter butter pieces over top of mixture and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, about 15 pulses. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; add buttermilk and stir until combined. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces, each about 1/4 cup, and place on prepared sheet, spacing them 1- 1/2 inches apart. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar evenly over top of biscuits dividing sugar equally between them and bake until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. You can rotate the baking sheet halfway through baking to insure even browning. (Do NOT turn oven off.)
3. For the Filling: While biscuits bake, arrange drained cherries in even layer in 13 by 9 – inch baking dish. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in medium saucepan. Stir in reserved cherry juice and wine and add cinnamon stick; bring mixture to simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove and discard cinnamon stick, stir in almond extract, and pour hot liquid over cherries.
4. To Assemble and Bake: Place the hot biscuits in 3 rows of 4 biscuits over the warm filling. Place your baking dish on an aluminum foil-lined rimmed baking sheet such as a jelly roll pan and bake until the filling is bubbly and the biscuits are a deep golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove the cobbler from the oven and cool on a wire rack until warm, about 10 minutes. Serve.
If you use fresh sour cherries like I did: 4 pounds, pitted, juice from pitting reserved. Whisk 1-1/2 cups sugar, 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and pinch salt together in a large bowl; add cherries and toss well to combine. Pour wine over the cherries and let stand 30 minutes. Drain the cherries into a colander that is set over a medium bowl. Combine drained and reserved juices from pitting cherries; you should have 3 cups. If you lack the specified amount, add cranberry juice to make up the difference. Continue as the recipe above illustrates.
This recipe is my spin on one from Cook’s Illustrated. I didn’t have a cinnamon stick so I used a teaspoon or so of ground cinnamon. I’m one of those cooks that goes by instinct, experience, smell, and personal preference. Purchasing the jars of cherries could be a bit spendy. I haven’t ever bought them this way so I do not know for sure. I also did not have any dry red wine as the recipe calls for so I substituted red cooking wine. I did not adjust the salt in the recipe and it seemed fine to me. The cooking wines can be rather salty. If you have a diet with limitations of salt, I suggest you make adjustments accordingly. Pre-cooking the biscuits keep them from becoming a soggy blob and they stay on top of the filling rather than settling into it. Using other fruits can work. You will probably have to experiment some. When the time comes for fresh peaches, I will see about posting my take on that. Happy baking and experimenting!
Debra inside under the A/C. Presently 92 degrees. Supposed to be 102 today!
Homemade Cherry Cobbler
Quick Fried Boneless Chicken
4 (6 – 8 ounce) boneless chicken pieces (breasts or thighs work fine)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon corn oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 275 degrees. Using a fork, poke the thickest parts of each chicken piece. This is especially important if you are using chicken breasts. Poke each piece 5 or 6 times. Sprinkle each piece with 1/2 teaspoon of the kosher salt. Transfer chicken pieces to 13 by 9-inch Pyrex baking dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake until breasts register 145 to 150 degrees, 30 – 40 minutes.
2. Remove chicken from oven and transfer to paper towel-lined plate (Skin side up if it still has the skin on. I use skinless). Pat dry with paper towel. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat just until smoking. WATCH IT CLOSELY! While skillet is heating, whisk butter, flour, cornstarch, and pepper together in a bowl. Lightly brush tops of chicken with half of the butter mixture. Place chicken in skillet, coated side down and cook until browned, about 4 or 5 minutes depending on the size of the chicken piece and your stove’s own “personality”. While the chicken browns, brush with remaining butter mixture. Flip chicken, reduce heat to medium and cook until second side is browned and chicken registers 160 degrees, about 3 or 4 minutes.
Long-Grain White Rice
2 cups long-grain white rice
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
2 to 4 tablespoon dehydrated vegetable soup mix (this is in bulk at my local bulk food store)
1. Place rice in fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until water runs clear. Place strainer over bowl and set aside.
2. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add rice and cook stirring constantly, until grains become chalky and opaque, about 1 to 3 minutes. Add water, salt and dehydrated vegetable soup mix. Increase heat to high, bring to boil, stirring briefly to blend ingredients. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until all liquid is absorbed, 18 to 20 minutes. Off heat, remove lid and place a kitchen towel folded in half over saucepan; replace lid on pot. Let stand off heat 10 to 15 minutes. Fluff rice with fork and serve.
Peanut Butter Cookies
Adapted from a Cook’s Country recipe
This made 20 large cookies.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups Skippy creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup corn syrup (I used dark Karo because that is what I had on hand)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg PLUS 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup dry-roasted peanuts, chopped fine
1. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl combine peanut butter, brown sugar, butter, corn syrup, granulated sugar, egg, yolk, and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour mixture and stir just until combined. Divide the dough in half. Wrap each section in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm; about 1 hour.
2. Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Using 2 tablespoons of dough per cookie, roll into 1-1/2 inch balls and place on cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Flatten cookie slightly. Sprinkle each cookie with chopped peanuts and press peanuts into dough lightly to adhere to dough.
3. Bake cookies until puffed and edges are lightly browned, 10 to 12 minutes, switching lower cookie sheet to top rack and top rack sheet to lower and also rotate cookie sheet halfway through baking. Cool 5 minutes on sheets. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with remaining dough.
Garden Gate Project 