Blueberry Cobbler

Cobbler is the lazy man's pie; that's my snobbish maxim. But I'm not above making it, as it is perfect for large parties. This is a variation on a recipe from the St. Louis Post Dispatch that was published at least a decade ago. Making cobbler is much less work than making pie (especially if you only put crust on the top), but it's just as satisfying to eat. I took this to a BBQ, and it got rave reviews (including my personal favorite, that it was "off the chain"). 

Gather blueberries, cornstarch, sugar, baking powder, unsalted butter, and half and half (or milk, provided it's at least 2%). Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Wash 10 cups of blueberries thoroughly and make sure all the stems are removed (this is the most tedious part of making this cobbler, because about one in every ten blueberries has a stem attached, so you have to carefully examine them).  Then put the blueberries in a 9" by 13" glass or ceramic dish. 

Next, pour 6 tablespoons of cornstarch, 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 1/2 a teaspoon salt over the blueberries and mix carefully.

Then dot the blueberry mixture with 2 tablespoons of butter and set it aside while you make the dough.  

In a bowl, mix with a fork 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cut in 1/2 a stick of butter with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture looks like this:

Then pour in half a cup of milk or half and half, mixing as you pour.   

Now you will have a crumbly mixture that you can gently form into balls.

Gently form twenty dough balls (roughly the size of golf balls), which should contain about 1 tablespoon of dough each. Place them on top of the blueberry mixture. You will have five rows containing four dough balls (dough balls? I feel there should be a more eloquent way for me to describe that...).

Bake for thirty minutes or until the dough is golden brown and the blueberries are bubbling. It will come out looking like this and smelling amazing.

Blueberry Cobbler

For filling:

10 cups blueberries

6 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 cups of sugar

1/2 a teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

For topping:

1/4 (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk or cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

For filling:

Thoroughly clean blueberries and place them in a 9" by 13" glass or ceramic dish. Gently mix in cornstarch, sugar and salt. Dot with unsalted butter and set aside.

For topping:

Mix flour, sugar, and salt with a fork. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender or with two knives (until the butter is in roughly pea-sized pieces). Add milk and mix with a fork. Form the dough into balls, about 1 tablespoon each, and place them about a half-an-inch apart on the blueberry mixture. Bake for 30 minutes or until the dough is golden brown and the blueberries are bubbling. 

Serve with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.