Berry season and stone fruit season are a special time of year and the best time of year for cobbler. The berries and stone fruits all cook well and are loaded with natural sugars that make perfect desserts with very little added sugar. I love crisps, but I will take a good cobbler over a crisp any day. Think of cobbler as a dessert version of chicken and dumplings. The biscuit or dumpling is always one of the best things about the dish.
Blueberries and peaches were both on sale the other day and I couldn’t resist making a cobbler. As I standing in the produce section - one of the benefits about working at a grocery store is plenty of time to create recipe ideas - thinking about it I noticed some basil that looked good and thought those three things all go together. Then I thought why do my biscuits have to be plain and boring. That ah-ha moment is bringing you basil citrus biscuits to top your cobbler. They remind me of the flavors in the citrus basil ricotta cookies and were the perfect topping to the cobbler.
Tips for working with berries and stone fruits
- To easily peel peaches and other stone fruit cut a small X on the bottom of the fruit. Drop the fruit in boiling water and cook for 1-2 minutes until the skin starts to release from the fruit. Then drop the fruit in an ice bath to stop the cooking. When cool to the touch peel the skin off and prep as needed for your recipe.
- When you bring home your berries resist the urge to rinse them all at once. Instead wash only what you need to use. Water increases the likely hood that they will mold before you can enjoy them.
- Always store berries in the fridge. Every hour they are out of the fridge will cut their shelf life drastically, in some cases as much as a day of shelf life will be lost.
You can make the following recipe with any variety of fruit. Just use 6 cups of fruit. Some tarter fruits like blackberries may require more added sugar.
Do you prefer cobbler or crisps for your summer fruit?
- 3 cups blueberries
- 3 cups peeled peaches, chopped approximately 4-5 peaches
- 1/2 cup basil, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 Tablespoons butter, melted, and cooled
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup buttermilk
- 2 Tablespoons basil, thinly shredded
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- Melt 4 Tablespoons of butter and allow to cool while you prepare the rest of the cobbler.
- Preheat the oven to 400° Mix all the ingredients for the filling and place in a deep pie dish. Place pie plate on a cookie sheet or aluminum foil to avoid spills in oven. Bake fruit for 20 minutes or until the fruit begins to release liquid.
- After fruit is in the oven, whisk the flour, sugar, the baking powder, baking soda and salt together. When mixed add basil and lemon zest and mix again.
- In a separate bowl whisk the buttermilk and cooled butter together. Be sure the butter is and buttermilk are similar temperatures. Butter that is too warm will curdle the buttermilk.
- Once the filling is releasing liquid, stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture until the dough is combined and all dry ingredients are moist
- Remove the cobbler from the oven. Divide the biscuit dough into 8 equal pieces and place them on top of the filling, spaced evenly apart.
- Place cobbler back in the oven and cook until the filling is bubbling and the tops of the biscuits are golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving. If making in advance reheat the cobbler in s 350° oven for 10-15 minutes.