Cottage Berry Cobbler | Baking with Dorie

This week’s bake along with our friends at Tuesday with Dorie features the cottage berry cobbler. Berry cobbler has been one of my favorite desserts to make, especially when you’re baking for a crowd. The combination of fruit and biscuits, as old fashioned as it may sound, never gets old in my house. We always have boxes of blueberries and other berries for my morning yogurt. Besides the usual pantry ingredients of flour, butter and milk, all I need is a small container of cottage cheese from the store.

There are many variations in making the berry cobbler. It takes on different feel and taste every time by changing the amount and kind of berries you use and the ratio of the dough ingredients.

FOR THE BERRIES: I like to vary by using 100% blueberries or the berry mix here that adds: blackberries, raspberries and halved strawberries, depending on what I have on hand. The best part is that there’s no fixed recipe. It’s entirely a matter of personal preference. The recipe packs a kilo of mixed berries for a 9-inch pie pan. In the beginning, I thought it was a lot. But I change my mind when I see the end result.

The combination of berries and biscuits has a wide berth and scope for creativity. It holds true time and time again when I make a berry cobbler.

Blueberries pack a nutritional punch; we eat them everyday. Besides, unripe blueberries tend to have a good amount of natural pectin, therefore there’s no need to add any thickener. Dorie makes the point to say that: “Whereas with a pie you want to limit the amount of juice the fruit gives off, with a cobbler, abundant juice is a plus… It’s nice to have “gravy” for the biscuits.”

Add tablespoonfuls of flour if you prefer thicker juices. There is a lot of play for the amount of berries you use and how juicy you want it to be. That’s the beauty and user-friendly-ness of a cobbler.

FOR THE BISCUITS: A typical biscuit dough uses 3 parts flour, 1 part fat and 2 parts liquid. This particular recipe is less doughy and more sticky. Using 172 grams all-purpose flour, 85 grams cold butter and 120 ml milk, plus 125 grams cottage cheese, it is a soft, moist and lumpy dough.

Interestingly, the addition of cottage cheese brings the dough together with specks of cheese curd throughout. The curds melt through the biscuits to add a feathery light, mildly sweet creaminess. By the way, It’s the namesake ingredient. Lately, cottage cheese is making a comeback in the culinary world.

The key is not overworking the dough. That’s the only rule. Place biscuit dough in tiny squares over the berries. Then bake for 10 minutes at 375°F and 30 more minutes at 350°F. A better cue: bake until the topping is brown and the juices bubble thickly around it.

OTHER FRUITS AND SPICES TO CONSIDER: I’ve combined blueberries and apricots in a cobbler with good effect. Moreover, Dorie suggests adding nectarines. And if you like, put in ground ginger or cardamom. I come to the conclusion that there is not one way, or the best way, to make a berry cobbler. Be assured you can’t make a bad one no matter how hard you try!