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Juicy sweet-tart cherries bubble beneath rustic drop biscuits with a shatteringly crisp sugar crust. This is summer in a baking dish, the kind of honest American dessert that requires only a spoon and good company.
Cobbler belongs to the American vernacular the way apple pie does, but with less pretension and more generosity. It asks nothing of you but ripe fruit, a quick biscuit dough, and the patience to let it bubble in the oven until properly done. No crimping crusts. No blind baking. Just fruit and topping, united by heat.
Cherries make exceptional cobbler. Their brief summer season creates urgency, that feeling of eating something fleeting and therefore precious. But frozen cherries work beautifully here, and I'll not apologize for saying so. A February cobbler made with good frozen fruit beats a July cobbler made with mealy supermarket specimens every time.
The almond extract is traditional with stone fruits and worth seeking out. It amplifies the cherry flavor rather than competing with it, a subtle nod to the almond hidden within every cherry pit. Combined with the buttermilk biscuit topping, you get something that tastes like summer celebration whether you serve it at a Fourth of July picnic or a Tuesday night supper.
Quantity
2 pounds
pitted (fresh or frozen and thawed)
Quantity
1/2 cup
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
1 tablespoon
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Quantity
1 pinch
Quantity
1 1/2 cups
Quantity
1/3 cup
Quantity
1 1/2 teaspoons
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
6 tablespoons
cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Quantity
3/4 cup
cold
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Quantity
2 tablespoons
for topping
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| sweet cherriespitted (fresh or frozen and thawed) | 2 pounds |
| granulated sugar (for filling) | 1/2 cup |
| cornstarch | 1 tablespoon |
| fresh lemon juice | 1 tablespoon |
| almond extract (for filling) | 1/4 teaspoon |
| pure vanilla extract | 1/4 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt (for filling) | 1 pinch |
| all-purpose flour | 1 1/2 cups |
| granulated sugar (for biscuits) | 1/3 cup |
| baking powder | 1 1/2 teaspoons |
| baking soda | 1/4 teaspoon |
| fine sea salt (for biscuits) | 1/2 teaspoon |
| unsalted buttercold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes | 6 tablespoons |
| buttermilkcold | 3/4 cup |
| almond extract (for biscuits) | 1/2 teaspoon |
| turbinado sugarfor topping | 2 tablespoons |
| vanilla ice cream (optional) | for serving |
Preheat your oven to 375°F and position a rack in the center. In a large bowl, combine the pitted cherries with half a cup of sugar, the cornstarch, lemon juice, both extracts, and a pinch of salt. Toss gently until the cornstarch dissolves and the cherries glisten. The lemon juice brightens the fruit's natural tartness while the almond extract whispers of marzipan, a classic companion to stone fruit.
Pour the cherry mixture into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish or a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Spread the fruit into an even layer. The cherries should cover the bottom generously but not pile high. Set aside while you prepare the biscuit topping.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, one-third cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and half a teaspoon of salt. The combination of baking powder and soda creates biscuits that rise beautifully and develop that characteristic golden crust.
Add the cold butter cubes to the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips, work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal with some pea-sized pieces remaining. These butter pockets are essential. They melt in the oven and create steam, producing flaky layers in your biscuit topping.
Stir the almond extract into the cold buttermilk. Pour this mixture over the flour and butter, then fold gently with a spatula until the dough just comes together. It will look shaggy and rough. Do not overmix. The moment you stop seeing dry flour, you stop stirring.
Drop spoonfuls of biscuit dough over the cherries, spacing them about an inch apart. You want eight to ten mounds of dough, roughly equal in size. Leave gaps between them. The fruit needs room to bubble up and the biscuits need space to spread. Sprinkle the turbinado sugar generously over the biscuit tops. This creates a crunchy, sparkly crust that shatters when you break through it.
Place the baking dish on a rimmed sheet pan to catch drips. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the biscuits are deeply golden brown and the cherry filling bubbles vigorously around the edges and through the gaps. The filling must bubble. Unbubbled filling means uncooked cornstarch, which tastes like library paste.
Remove the cobbler from the oven and let it rest for fifteen to twenty minutes. This allows the filling to thicken slightly and prevents mouth-burning catastrophe. The cherries will still be warm, the biscuits tender. Serve in shallow bowls with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting into the fruit. Watch the cold cream meet the warm cherries. That contrast is why we make cobbler.
1 serving (about 370g)
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