Cobblers: All-Season And Easy-to-Make Desserts

Cobblers are traditional baked dessert dishes consisting of a filling that is placed in a baking dish and then covered by a layer of dough that will form the crust. Unlike pies, cobblers do not have a bottom crust. Usually, fresh fruits are used as fillings in cobblers and the popular choices are apples, blackberries, peaches, plums, cherries and pears. Sometimes, cobblers are served not as desserts but as a main dish and they are filled with meat or vegetables.

Cobblers have several variations such as crisps or crumbles, which have crumbs for toppings instead of a crust; the New England version of slumps and grunts, which have dumpling-shaped top crusts; buckles, which are made by mixing the filling with yellow batter and the North Carolina version called sonker, which is a deep dish cobbler.

Perhaps the most well-known cobbler is the Brown Betty, which goes back to colonial times. The traditional Brown Betty is made with sliced apples and brown sugar. It is not as sweet as most desserts but this old-fashioned cobbler remains a favorite among Americans.

Cobblers are traditionally made with fruit, butter and sugar for the filling and flour, fat, salt, and water are needed to make the crust. You can use fresh fruits, dried fruits, canned or frozen fruits as fillings for your cobblers. Traditional cobbler recipes rely largely on lard or butter and sugar to create flavor, texture and color. Modern cobblers are more nutritious making use of all-natural nut butters, fruit juice, pureed fruit and fruit sauces.

You can use one or more kinds of fruit in your cobblers. Just make sure that fruit or fruits you select are good for cooking. You can experiment with whatever fruits are available during the season. For instance, apple and pear cobblers are perfect in autumn, blueberries and peaches make great cobblers during the summer and mix dried or preserved fruits for winter cobblers.

Toppings for cobblers are meant to complement the filling so they are normally crunchy, spiced or chewy. Grains, nuts, spices and fruits are the usual toppings for cobblers. Some examples are oats, hazelnuts, cinnamon, and dried fruits. Cobblers may also be served with whipped cream or ice cream.

Cobblers are excellent desserts because they are very easy to prepare and you can use almost any of fruit in season. You do not have to be an expert baker to create satisfying cobblers. No fancy preparations and baking techniques. The goodness of cobblers rely more on the flavor of your fruit fillings.