Fresh Blackberry Cobbler with a Hint of Orange

If anyone were to ask me what my favorite dessert is, I will always say warm blackberry cobbler. I love it any way it is done. This kind of ‘dump’ cobbler has always been my favorite, though. It is winter here, but most of my local grocery stores put blackberries on sale for a dollar per 6 ounce container. I grab four or five of those and I’m ready to go!

Ingredients:

5 cups fresh blackberries

2/3 cup water

½ cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons orange zest

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk
½ cup (1 stick) butter

Vanilla ice cream for serving

Directions: In a large saucepan, combine the blackberries, water, sugar and orange zest. Bring to a boil and then quickly drop the temperature down to medium. Cook over medium heat for 30 minutes or until the blackberries just start breaking down. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

While the blackberries are cooking down, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and milk together and set aside.

Place the butter in a 13 by 9 ovenproof dish and place in the oven until melted (about 8 to 10 minutes).

Remove the butter from the oven and pour the batter into the butter without stirring. Spoon the blackberries over the batter, without stirring. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly on top. Turn off the oven and let the cobbler rest in the oven 15 minutes more. Let the dish cool for 15 minutes or so and then spoon the hot cobbler into bowls and add a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream.