Makes 6 servings
A cobbler is the dessert of choice when the season brings soft fruits with lots of juice. The sweet-biscuit topping for this one is light and cakey and just about begs to be soaked with the flavorful syrup that comes with cooked fruits. To make the topping, you stir the ingredients together with a fork and drop the batter over the fruit — it’s a biscuit recipe for a beginner, no cutting in butter, no fretting over working the dough too much or too little. As with so many of the best homemade classics, this is less a formula than a construct — one 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and this recipe, and you’re on your way to a lifetime of cobblers.
a word on serving
I like to spoon the cobbler out of the dish and serve it in bowls, with some of the fruit juices around it, but some people like the cobbler upside down, biscuit on the bottom, the fruit on top and the juice soaking into the biscuit. Ice cream or whipped cream is a good move no matter how you serve it.
Center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Butter a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate and put it on the baking sheet.
To make the fruit: I know this may sound sacrilegious, but I no longer peel peaches for cobblers, crisps or pies — I actually like the extra bit of chew that you get with the skins and it speeds up the prep. But if you want to peel them, cut a shallow X in the base of each peach. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop in the peaches a few at a time, leave for about 15 seconds, lift out and transfer to a bowl filled with very cold water and ice cubes. Leave for a couple of minutes, then drain and peel.
Cut the peaches into bite-sized chunks or slices and toss them into the pie plate. Taste and decide how much sugar you want and then, if you’d like, add some lemon juice. Add the blueberries, if you’re using them, and then make a decision about the cornstarch: It’s only a tiny bit, but it will thicken the juices a little. If your peaches are very ripe, I’d add it. Give everything a good stir and set aside.
To make the biscuit topping: Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl. In a measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together the cream and buttermilk. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry and, using a table fork, stir until the flour is evenly dampened and you’ve got a moist batter.
Using a medium (1½-tablespoon capacity) scoop or a tablespoon, dollop the topping over the fruit — leave a little space between each pouf of batter.
Bake the cobbler for 45 to 55 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and, most important, the fruit juices are boiling under, and maybe up, through and over, the biscuits. Transfer to a rack and let cool for at least 20 minutes, or until the cobbler reaches room temperature, before serving, with or without ice cream or whipped cream.
Storing: The cobbler is best the day it is made. You can keep it covered overnight at room temperature or in the refrigerator, but the biscuit topping will never make you as happy as it does soon after it comes out of the oven.
The same batter that makes the topping for the cobbler makes lovely shortcakes. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet. Use a large (3-tablespoon capacity) scoop or a tablespoon to portion out the batter, dropping the biscuits on the baking sheet 3 inches apart. Bake for 17 to 19 minutes, until the biscuits are golden and set. You’ll get 10 biscuits for sure, and maybe another one or two. Let them rest until they’re just warm or at room temperature before serving. These won’t be very high, but they will be very tender, so either cut them in half or just smush them and put juicy fruit on top. Choose whatever soft fruit and/or berries you’d like, cut the fruit into bite-sized pieces, if necessary, and toss them with some sugar, so that they create a syrup. Serve the shortcakes with whipped cream.