Chez Panisse Berry Cobbler Recipes

CHEZ PANISSE'S BLUEBERRY COBBLER

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees. To prepare the berries, place in a bowl and toss with the sugar and flour. Set aside.
• To make the dough, mix the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the cream and mix lightly, just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
• Put the blueberries in a 1 1/2-quart gratin or baking dish. Make patties out of the dough, 2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter and 1/2-inch thick. Arrange them over the top of the berries. Bake until the topping is brown and the juices bubble thickly around it, about 35 to 40 minutes.
• Let cool slightly. Serve warm, with cream to pour on top, if desired.

CHEZ PANISSE BERRY COBBLER

Steps:

• Measure 4.5 cups of mixed berries and toss them with the sugar and flour. Let stand while you make the dough.
• Cobbler dough: Mix the dry ingredients for the dough, leaving out the salt if you are using salted butter. Cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Add the cream and mix lightly, until the dry ingredients are just moistened. The dry ingredients for the topping can be prepared ahead -- even several days ahead -- and kept refrigerated. The cream can then be added when you are ready to bake the cobbler.
• Put the berry mixture into a 1.5 quart gratin or baking dish. Make patties of the dough, 2 to 2-1/2 inches in diameter and 1/2 inch thick. Arrange them over the top of the berries. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the topping is brown and the berry juices bubble thickly around it.
• Serve warm with cream to pour over or top with vanilla ice cream.

CHEZ PANISSE PEACH COBBLER

Steps:

• Wash, peel and pit the peaches. Slice them thin in a bowl; you should have 3 or 4 cups. Toss with the sugar and flour. Divide among 6 custard cups or individual souffle' dishes, filling each almost to the top. Make the cobbler dough (see below) and roll it out 1/4 inch to 1/3 inch thick. Cut pieces with a cookie cutter to fit the tops of the baking dishes, leaving 1/4 inch of the fruit exposed around the edges. (You can also cut the dough to desired shape with a knife or make patties of the dough, remembering to allow room for 1/4 inch of the fruit to be exposed.) Set the dough biscuits on top of the fruit and brush their tops with cream. bake in the lower third of a preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Serve with the 3/4 cup whipping cream (pour over the cobbler, if desired).
• Variation: To make a peach and raspberry cobbler or a peach and blueberry cobbler, add about 3/4 cup raspberries or blueberries to the peach mixture before tossing with the sugar and flour.
• For cobbler dough: Mix the dry ingredients for the dough, leaving out the salt if you are using salted butter. Cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Add the cream and mix lightly, until the dry ingredients are just moistened. The dry ingredients for the topping can be prepared up to several days ahead and kept refrigerated. The cream can then be added when you are ready to bake the cobbler.

NECTARINE & BERRY COBBLER

Steps:

• Prepare half the Sweet Cream Biscuits recipe on page 34. Cut out 10 biscuits using a 2 1/2 -inch round cutter, or 14 biscuits with a 2-inch cutter. A cutter with scalloped edges makes beautiful cobbler biscuits.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine the fruit in a large bowl. Mix 1/2 cup sugar, flour, and salt together, and stir into the fruit. Add the lemon zest and juice, and mix well. Put the fruit in a gratin dish approximately 9 inches by 12 inches and 2 to 3 inches deep. Bake the fruit for 8 minutes or until the fruit just softens. Remove the dish from the oven. Brush the biscuit tops with the cream and sprinkle lightly with the remaining sugar. Place the biscuits on the fruit in staggered rows and return the dish to the oven (set the dish on a baking sheet to catch any overflowing juices). Bake the cobbler for 35 to 45 minutes, until the biscuits are golden and the fruit is bubbling. Let the cobbler cool awhile and serve warm with vanilla ice cream or lightly whipped cream, if you like.
• Notes
• Use other stone fruit in place of the nectarines; plums will need 1 to 2 tablespoons additional sugar, and the slices should be slightly thinner. Use all nectarines, or peaches or other stone fruit, if berries are not available.
• Instead of cobbler biscuits, bake the fruit with a crisp topping: Mix together 1 1/4 cups flour, 6 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 2/3 cup lightly toasted chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, or almonds). Work in 12 tablespoons butter cut into small pieces until the mixture has a crumbly texture. Cover the fruit in the pan with the crisp topping and bake until the fruit is bubbling thickly and the topping is lightly browned.