Black berry Cobbler with Brown Butter Topping

This time of year, I am obsessed with blackberries. I can scarcely think of a more enticing dessert way to use them, than in a blackberry cobbler. Besides the fact that it highlights their supreme juiciness and amazing sweet flavor, it is also easy as pie! Or as cobbler?

The cobbler pastry itself is so basic, pretty much a pie dough- and you get that flaky shortbready texture which is the perfect compliment to the berries. And my own little twist on these cobbler pastry is that I drizzled brown butter over the top of them.

The browned butter seems to take the pastry to another level by adding that sweet, nutty favor that brown butter always does! And then comes just that hint of turbinado sugar, with a crunchy contrast to everything else! (of course if you don’t have turbinado, or another large crystal sugar, who cares? Just use regular sugar!)

Summer just started and it already feels like it’s just flying on by! I’ve been eyeing up all the amazing things popping up at the farmer’s market lately like the first zucchini, early season tomatoes and summer’s sweetest berries. It’s like an edible rainbow each and every time I go.

INGREDIENTS:

-8 cups blackberries
-3 Tbs sugar
-3 Tbs flour
-1/8 tsp nutmeg (or ½ tsp cinnamon)
-4 Tbs butter cut into small pieces
-2 cups flour
-3 Tbs sugar
-½ tsp salt
-½ cup Crisco
-¼ cup ice water
-4 Tbs brown butter
-2 Tbs turbinado sugar (or large crystal crunchy sugar)

DIRECTIONS:

1)In a large bowl mix together the fruit with the sugar, flour and nutmeg.

2)Gently mix everything together to coat the fruit

3)Pile the fruit into a buttered 9×13” baking dish.

4)Randomly place the butter pats over the fruit.

5)In a bowl of a food processor, mix together the flour, sugar, salt and Crisco.

6)Add the ice water and pulse to a crumb texture

7)Sprinkle the dough on top of the fruit.

8)Melt the remaining ¼ cup of butter until it is a nutty brown color. Drizzle the melted butter over the pastry chunks, (make sure you get all the little brown “crumbs” out of the pan- that is the good part!)

9)Sprinkle them with the 2 Tbs crunchy sugar.

10)Bake the cobbler at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes until the cobbler pastry is golden brown and crispy and the fruit is bubbling.