Blueberry Cobbler = Summer's Official Arrival

Blueberries are in season here in central Pennsylvania--as well as plenty other places too, I'd imagine. In the off season, they go for $6-7 a pint. And because they have to be imported from somewhere warm in the winter time, they are usually picked before they are fully ripe--yielding sour berries with mealy texture.

By contrast, right now I can get two pints for $3 and in peak condition! They are so fresh and plump that every single berry is edible. I don't even have to pick them over and throw out mushy ones because there are none.

I decided to make a blueberry cobbler to bring over to my friend JoAnn's tonight.

Blueberry cobbler is something I was only recently introduced to; that is, a few summers ago, when I moved to New York. In Manhattan, one of the things I really liked were the fruit stands that dotted the city and which I would inevitably run into, on my way to a subway station. The fruit was of pretty good quality, at very reasonable prices. (And here I put the disclaimer of not discussing why the prices at these fruit stands were so cheap, i.e., labor costs, etc.) Anyway, a friend was incredulous that I had never had blueberry cobbler, or even very many fresh blueberries ever for that matter. So I decided to try it one day, using Baking Illustrated's recipe.

So simple; just cobbled together from ingredients you most likely have lying around anyway. All I had to do was run to the corner and get some blueberries from the street vendor. I don't think my friend ever really knew it, but a secret love affair was born.

I rarely like cooked fruit. For that reason, I rarely eat pie (although I love making it). But blueberry cobbler is perhaps the one dish where I like the cooked fruit more than the fresh fruit. And I always forget this.

But what I don't forget is the awe I discovered when I had my first bite of cobbler ever. How could it be that such humble ingredients (flour, buttermilk, cornmeal, baking powder/soda, sugar, pinch of salt) make something so rich? I love the royal color of the blueberry juices bubbling up; the texture of the cornmeal in the dough; the soft scent of cinnamon; and the way it all comes together with the juices soaking up into the dough.

Blueberry Cobbler (America's Test Kitchen)

Filling

• 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1 T. cornstarch
• pinch ground cinnamon
• pinch table salt
• 6 C. fresh blueberries (30 ounces), picked over
• 1-1/2  t. grated lemon zest
• 1 T. lemon juice

Biscuit Topping

• 1 C. unbleached all-purpose flour (5 ounces)
• 2 T. cornmeal , stone-ground
• 1/4 C. granulated sugar , plus 2 teaspoons for sprinkling
• 2 t. baking powder
• 1/4 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. table salt
• 4 T. unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted
• 1/3 C. buttermilk
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 1/8 t. ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Stir sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt together in large bowl. Add berries and mix gently with rubber spatula until evenly coated; add lemon zest and juice and mix to combine. Transfer berry mixture to 9-inch glass pie pan, place pie pan on rimmed baking sheet, and bake until filling is hot and bubbling around edges, about 25 minutes.

3. While blueberries are baking: Whisk flour, cornmeal, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to combine. Whisk melted butter, buttermilk, and vanilla in small bowl. Mix remaining 2 teaspoons sugar and cinnamon in second small bowl and set aside. One minute before berries come out of the oven, add wet ingredients to dry ingredients; stir with rubber spatula until just combined and no dry pockets remain.
4. Remove berries from oven; increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.

5. Pinch off 8 equal-sized pieces biscuit dough and place on hot berry filling, spacing them at least 1/2 inch apart (they should not touch). Sprinkle each mound of dough with cinnamon-sugar.

6. Bake until filling is bubbling and biscuits are golden brown on top and cooked through, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool cobbler on wire rack 20 minutes and serve.