Strawberry Cobbler

Beautiful strawberries are available everywhere right now.  Last week we made a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie which was gone all too quickly.  Here we use our favorite cobbler recipe to make an amazing strawberry cobbler.   The key here is the biscuit topping, crusty on the outside and soft and tender within, and buttery throughout.  The biscuit is also very versatile -- we've used the same recipe to make cobbler with blackberries; peaches; and (our favorite combo) strawberries and rhubarb.  It soaks up a bit of the fruit juices, and reheats well if you have leftovers.   This is a rustic dessert that does not require any baking skill.  Just dump the biscuit dough on top of the berry filling, bake and eat.  Proof that taste triumphs over form when it comes to dessert.  Perfect any time of day served warm with lots of creme fraiche on the side.

Strawberry Cobbler

Ingredients

Filling

6           cups             strawberries, wished and sliced
1/2        cup               sugar
3           Tbs               flour
1/2         tsp               orange zest

Biscuit

1 1/2      cup               unbleached A.P. flour
1/4         tsp                salt
1            Tbs               baking powder
2            Tbs               sugar, plus more for top
4            Tbs               butter, cubed and cold
1            cup               heavy cream
                                   8" pyrex baking dish or similar

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 325° convection (375° conventional). 
2. Combine filling ingredients and place in pyrex baking dish.
3. Make topping.  First, combine all dry ingredients.  Then cut in the butter to resemble coarse meal.  We use our fingers for this by rubbing the butter/flour mixture between my thumb and forefinger until the butter pieces are the size of a pea (some can be bigger than that).  You don't want the texture to be too smooth or the topping will lose its buttery richness.  You can also use a pastry cutter, food processor or forks to do this, but why create one more dirty thing to wash?
4. Add cream and mix until uniformly moist.  Spoon out on top of filling.  It should be plopped on in clumps.  You don't want a perfectly smooth topping.  Sprinkle with granulated sugar for some sparkle.
5. Bake until biscuit is golden brown and filling is cooking and bubbling.
6. Let cool enough for the juices to thicken, then served warm alone or with whipped cream or creme fraiche. 

If you like this, check out our:
Blackberry Cobbler and Rhubarb Strawberry Cobbler recipes which use the same biscuit topping
You might also like our Mixed Berry Grunt which is a stove-top version of a cobbler