“Eat it warm or cold. Although it is not a fashionable pie for company, it is very excellent for family use…” 

– Mrs. Lettice Bryan on a ‘cobler’ in The Kentucky Housewife, 1839.

Hello friends! Don’t you just love summer? All those strawberries. And peaches. And blueberries! As a kid I loved nothing more than staying up late during summer vacation, watching movies while snacking on fresh blueberries from the freezer.

I still love just about anything blueberry, and what could be easier than a cobbler? Fresh fruit, sugar, some lemon juice and cornstarch, add a drop biscuit crust and shazam, perfect summertime dessert.

Cobblers, Crumbles, and Slumps, Oh My!

Cobblers are one of those great American improvisations; when early settlers couldn’t find the ingredients or equipment to make their traditional pies, they used what was at hand.

While cobblers are typically just a fruit filling with a thick or biscuit crust, crumbles feature a crumbled topping. Slumps are similar to cobblers but usually cooked on top of the stove. Buckles are typically made with blueberries and the fruit is mixed in with the batter, or put on top, so that the batter rises around the berries. That, and the streusel-like topping, give it a “buckled” appearance, hence the name.

But what about pandowdy, apple betty, sonker and grunt? No, they’re not cartoon characters and you can read all about them here. Who knew early American desserts could be so fascinating?

The Steps

This recipe is a modified version of one of my Great-Aunt Goldean’s.

• Coat the blueberries with sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch.

• Mix the dry ingredients, butter, and buttermilk.

• Scoop the batter onto the fruit – no need to be fancy here – and bake for an hour.

Print Pin

Blueberry Cobbler

A great use of summer's blueberries, this cobbler is easy to toss together and oh-so-delicious.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 12

Author Jen Leigh

Ingredients

• 8 cups fresh blueberries
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 1/4 cup buttermilk, cold
• Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• In a large bowl, gently mix the blueberries with 1/2 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice until berries are coated. Layer blueberries into the bottom of a greased 9×13-inch baking dish.
• Whisk the flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in another large bowl. Cut in the butter until mixture is mealy. Slowly add the buttermilk while stirring gently until combined. The batter will be sticky and look like cookie dough.
• Scoop blobs of the batter onto the top of the berries, distributing as evenly as possible. Don’t worry if berries show through – this is supposed to be a rustic look.
• Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Sprinkle coarse turbinado sugar across the top upon removing from oven (optional).
• Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword blueberry cobbler

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