A Recipe for Hospitality: Simple Blackberry Cobbler

By Emily Stimpson Chapman

Read more at Emily’s blog, The Catholic Table.

A few months back, in the deep, dark, frozen recesses of January, a friend showed up at my door with two crates of blackberries in hand.

Apparently, he’d already dispensed about a dozen more elsewhere.

If you’d asked me before that January day if said friend had mafia connections, I would have unhesitatingly answered, “No!” Now, I’m not so sure—mostly because his explanation as to where the blackberries came from amounted to, “They fell off of a truck.”

Shifty. Very shifty.

Regardless, the roommates and I spent the next two weeks throwing blackberries into and onto everything we could think of: yogurt, smoothies, salads, crostini, and, of course, cobbler.

The cobbler was, far and away, our favorite means of employing those delicious little bites of tartness. I think I made three of them before finally crying “Uncle” and freezing the rest. Not, mind you, that I ate three cobblers. Credit for that mostly goes to the boyfriend, who has decided that this is the second best dessert I make (the best is a zucchini chocolate cake…which I’ll try to repeat this summer).

Accordingly, because I am a sucker for praise, I pulled out the last of the blackberries from the freezer on Palm Sunday, when I got to play hostess to his good friends (and mine) from South Carolina. Yes, I am shameless. What makes it even worse, is how easy this dessert is: 5 ingredients, 10 minutes of prep, and 40 minutes of baking.

I actually took these pictures months ago, on one of the first cobbler go arounds, but then decided not to share the recipe because it seemed too ridiculously easy and not nearly impressive enough for food blogging.

After the guests left, however, I thought better of it. Being able to throw this together so quickly in the midst of all my other hosting duties was a God-send. It kept me sane, made the guests happy, and allowed all of us to focus on the most important part of the visit . . . the actual visiting.

I’ll wager good money it can do the same for you and yours.

Simple Blackberry Cobbler

Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Bake Time: 40-45 minutes
Serves: 10

Adapted from Southern Living Magazine

Ingredients

• 6 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 cups flour
• 12 Tablespoons butter, melted, plus extra for greasing the pans
• vanilla ice cream (optional…but not really)

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease a 9×13 pan or 2.5 quart baking dish with butter.
3. Throw in your blackberries.
4. In a separate bowl, stir together the eggs, sugar, and flour until a crumbly mixture forms. Spread on top of blackberries.
5. Pour the melted butter over the topping.
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the cobbler crust is golden.
7. Top with ice cream. I know, this is supposedly optional. But seriously…what’s cobbler without ice cream?

Cook’s Notes

1. I’ve used both fresh and frozen in this recipe. The only difference is that the cobbler baked from the frozen berries is a bit runnier. Just as tasty though.
2. If you’re using frozen berries, don’t thaw them first. Toss them in the pan fresh from the freezer.
3. Some of you might be tempted to double the cobbler topping. That is an understandable temptation. I was so tempted myself and the recipe above reflects that temptation. Any more doubling and you’ll just have too much of a good thing. Which really is possible.
4. One roommate thought this was a little too sweet. The rest of us liked how the sweetness of the crust balanced out the tartness of the berries. Nevertheless, if you’re inclined to like things a little less on the sweet side, just reduce the sugar by 1/4 of a cup or so.
5. That’s it. It seriously doesn’t get any easier than this.

 

Emily Stimpson Chapman is an author with a gift for bringing everyday life into a sacramental focus. Her most recent book, The Catholic Table: Finding Joy Where Food and Faith Meet, helps us approach food with gratitude and joy, not to mention its delicious recipes meant to bring friends together over a good meal.