baking

Most people who know me know that I’m not big on sweets. Oh, I like my chocolate- extra dark, at least 65%, more bitter than sweet- but I’d rather have cheese or some other creamy fatty salty concoction than a cake or pie. My boys like sweets, so today, while G was called into the office to handle some pre-business-trip arrangements, I baked a warm and comforting sweet. This trip has been the cause of dinnertime phone calls and emergency blackberry emails about speech changes for his boss’s boss, and has caused a great deal of stress for a normally easy-going guy. That and the fact that we left the warm house to go out into the cold for an early-morning car repair trip (we still have to go back out to get the car) means that the bigger boy deserves a treat.
My infrequently made but most loved sweet treat is a four-fruit cobbler, easily thrown together with whatever is on hand. This time we used apples, dried cranberries, a handful each of frozen blackberries and blueberries from this summer, plus a handful of chopped pecans. I mixed the fruit with some Chinese five spice powder, a couple of tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of cornstarch. The crust for the cobbler is my mother in law’s specialty (she is a sweets baker supreme).

Cookie crust cobbler:
1 stick melted butter
1 c each sugar, flour
1 beaten egg.

These four ingredients are mixed and dropped by the teaspoon on the top of the fruit mixture, then baked at 350 until it smells good and the cookie crust is slightly browned. This recipe usually makes enough for 2 small cobblers, so I spoon the rest into a sheet of waxed paper, roll it up, and freeze it for the next time the boys need a treat.

I love how this looks in a blue pottery bowl. It also works in ramekins for a slightly more fancy presentation-and more crust per person. Though sweet, it is a great way to get fruit into your meal, and if you decrease the sugar in the crust, this cobbler works for breakfast, as well.