LUCY ADAMS REYNOLDS (Springfield, Tennessee) was known as Mammy to her granddaughter, WANDA WATTS (also of Springfield). Mammy cooked on an old-fashioned wood stove when Wanda was a little girl, and on Sundays during the summer, she made blackberry cobbler in an oblong silver pan. She served cream in a small cat pitcher to pour on their cobbler. Wanda has that cat pitcher displayed in her kitchen today and says it brings a smile to her face each time she looks at it. Mammy also made small fried fruit pies during the winter months, using apples she dried during the summer on the tin roof that covered her well house.
⅓ cup lard or vegetable shortening, plus extra for preparing the pan
¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 ⅛ teaspoon salt, divided
3 cups washed and dried blackberries
3 teaspoons baking powder
⅔ cup whole milk
¼ cup (½ stick) butter
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
2 In a medium bowl combine the sugar, 1 tablespoon of the flour, and ⅛ teaspoon of the salt. Add the berries and gently toss.
3 In a large bowl combine the remaining 2 cups flour, baking powder, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, shortening, and milk. Divide the mixture in half. Roll out each portion of dough ¼ inch thick. Fit the first rolled half of the dough into the baking pan.
4 Pour the fruit mixture into the pan, dot the fruit with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon. Use a biscuit cutter to cut 6 to 8 circles in the remaining dough and place on top of the fruit mixture.
5 Bake 30 minutes or until the fruit is bubbly and the biscuits are golden brown. If the biscuits on top are getting too brown before the fruit is bubbling, cover loosely with a piece of foil. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool slightly before serving. Serve alone or with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. Refrigerate any leftovers and reheat before serving.
MAKES 6 TO 8 SERVINGS.