Suzanne has 3 growing teenagers to feed, so she can put those apricots to work! This week she walked me through her steps of making a fruit cobbler, using blackberries and Pat’s apricots. What I love about cobbler recipes is that they are so forgiving. If they end up runny, that’s okay because you aren’t trying to contain them in a pie shell. If they’re a little too tart, just serve them with some vanilla ice cream. Cobblers travel well for potlucks and you just serve them with a spoon. Best of all, they’re a wonderful way to enjoy the fruit of the season.
5 cups pitted, quartered apricots (Blenheims if you can get a hold of some) 3 cups blackberries (or boysenberries or blueberries) 1 cup white granulated sugar 2 tablespoons flour (for thickening)
Cobbler topping:
2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar 1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened plus 1/4 cup melted butter 1 cup buttermilk 1/2 teaspoon almond extract 2 tablespoons brown sugar
Place filling into baking dish (one 9x13x2 baking dish, or two smaller baking dishes). Cut the butter into small cubes and toss into the flour mixture. Work the butter with your fingers to smear it and crumble it into the flour, until the mixture resembles a coarse cornmeal. Tip: at this point, if you briefly heat the apricot berry mixture in the microwave or oven, until it is warm, it will help the biscuit topping to rise. Gently mix (with wooden spoon or your hands) until the dough just comes together. Do not over-mix. Check during cooking, if the topping is getting too brown, cover it with foil and turn the heat down to 325°F. Rustic apricot tart
