It’s the end of August but there’s still just enough time to eke out another summer dessert or two. To me, a cobbler is the quintessential comforting summer fruit dessert. Cobblers should be intensely fruity, simple to make without any special equipment or techniques, and have a beautifully fluffy and slightly crisp biscuit on top. The beauty of a cobbler is in its effortlessness–simplicity at its finest.
This easy blueberry cobbler recipe adds a few subtle tweaks to a classic cobbler to enhance the blueberry flavor and add more texture and flavor to the biscuit, all without introducing any complex or time consuming techniques. I have to shout out to two of my favorite blueberry cobbler recipes that I used to make time and time again: David Lebovitz’s cobbler, and the famous Chez Panisse cobbler. Both embrace the beautiful simplicity of a berry cobbler.
For my version, I’ve introduced a few new elements and different techniques:
- Amp up the blueberry flavor: This filling tastes intensely of blueberry thinks to the addition of 1/4 tsp of ground coriander. You can’t taste the coriander at all but the blueberry flavor is noticeably amplified and is absolutely delightful.
- Add more texture and flavor to the biscuit: I incorporated a small amount of cornmeal into my biscuit dough, which adds a nice subtle crunch to the texture and a light corn flavor that pairs well with the blueberry. It also adds a golden hue to the biscuits which is a nice visual touch.
- Simplify the biscuit making process: By definition, a cobbler should not be a fussy dessert. Rather than going through the trouble of freezing and grating butter for the biscuit or cutting cold butter into the biscuit dough, I stumbled upon a tip to add slightly cooled, melted butter into cold buttermilk. Upon contact, the butter starts to solidify into small pieces generating a similar effect to grating frozen butter without any of the extra effort.
This cobbler recipe is very forgiving and versatile. And anyone can make it! The smell of the blueberry filling and the golden biscuits as it comes out of the oven is already reward enough. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream onto the warm cobbler and you have created a moment of pure bliss.
Easy blueberry cobbler with cornmeal biscuits
Course: Pies and tartsDifficulty: Quick bake6
servings25
minutes40
minutesThis easy cobbler recipe has an intense blueberry flavor and is dotted with flavorful cornmeal biscuits that add a slight crunchy texture. It is simple to make and an absolute delight to eat, especially with a touch of ice cream on top. The biscuit is not very sweet at all, so I called for about 1/3 cup of sugar in the filling to make up for it. If you want the overall dessert to be only faintly sweet, you can reduce the sugar to 1/4 cup.
Ingredients
- For the filling
4-5 cups of blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/3 cup (67g) sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp flour
2 tsp lemon juice
- For the biscuits
2/3 cup cold buttermilk (or approx. same amount of milk + 2 tsp of white vinegar or lemon juice)
1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (63g) cornmeal
1 1/2 T sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Start by melting 6 tablespoons of butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Set aside to cool slightly. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, mix together the milk and 2 tsp of lemon juice or vinegar, stir, and place in the fridge until ready to use.
- Preheat the oven to 375F. In a 1.5 quart baking dish (if you don’t have that, you can use a large pie plate or similar-sized dish), add the sugar and lemon zest. Massage the zest into the sugar until you achieve a sandy texture.
- Stir in the flour and coriander. Add in the blueberries and toss until evenly coated. Add the lemon juice and stir to mix. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a cup or small bowl, measure out your buttermilk and pour the melted butter into the buttermilk. Stir until small butter lumps form. Pour into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Drop the biscuit dough onto the blueberries in large spoonfuls, creating 6-8 dollops on top of the cobbler.
- Brush the tops of the biscuits with a bit of milk or buttermilk and sprinkle with turbinado or granulated sugar.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until the biscuits are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the biscuits comes out clean.
- Let cool slightly and serve warm, on its own or with ice cream.
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