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.
Jen says
Hi there! Thanks for the recipe. I made something similar tonight, combining ideas from your recipe and a few others. One note: I don’t think you say, in the instructions, where/how to add the basil and lemon zest (I folded in as a last step in biscuit preparation…) Also, any particular reason why you use melted better instead of cold solid butter?
Thanks for letting me know I missed the basil and lemon zest. Sounds like you added them at the same spot I did. As for why the melted butter it was a technique from America’s Test Kitchen. They found melted butter made a better textured drop biscuit that I like to use in cobbler. When making traditional buttermilk biscuits I would still use cold butter and cut it in to get that flaky texture.
Jen says
Thank you for your response! I will try that on the next run.
Jen recently posted…Roasted Apricot Caprese with Pomegranate-Chipotle Sauce
jenna @ butter loves company says
Peach and blueberry is one of my favorite combinations, especially for summer. I love the addition of basil to the biscuits! Swoon!
jenna @ butter loves company recently posted…angel food cupcakes with whipped cream topping
The basil biscuits work well with a strawberry cobbler as well!
I made something similar to this earlier this summer, but I LOVE the idea of adding basil! Great work!
Sarah recently posted…Hello Dolly Dessert Bars
Thanks Sarah. Your Hello Dolly Dessert bars look delicious too.
Cobbler and biscuits? I’m so there! What a fabulous way to celebrate/mourn the end of summer - thanks for sharing!
Kathryn Doherty recently posted…Eggplant caviar
I find celebrating the passing of the season keeps me from missing one season over another. Thanks for stopping by the blog.
Ai Ping | Curious Nut says
I love both cobbler and crisp. They each have their distinct goodness to them. Basil in cobbler though… that’s just brilliant!
Ai Ping | Curious Nut recently posted…Spicy Jerk Shrimp
You should give it a try. I tried a strawberry cobbler the other day and put the basil in the cobbler. I don’t recommend that. Much better in the biscuits or put on top of the fruit as a garnish. Flavor of the basil changed too much during the baking.
Oooh! I bet basil and lemon zest make for some amazing biscuits-great idea.
Becky Winkler (A Calculated Whisk) recently posted…Announcing Paleo Planet + Marinated Skirt Steak with Cilantro-Lime Ghee
They were delicious, but the black pepper biscuits I tried last week were even better! Have to get those on the blog soon.
What a lovely recipe!! Peaches and berries sound like a great combination of summer fruits. Yum! My family promptly devours all fresh fruits but I will definitely make this when we have extra fruit or just want a dessert.
Sharon @Nut Free Wok recently posted…Nut Free, Egg Free Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe
This is the best time for fresh fruit. It would work with frozen berries in the winter when you are craving those summer fruits!
Oh, my, my, my! That looks heavenly. Its 7am here, but as soon as my local grocery store opens, I’m off to buy the fruit to make this; my pantry has everything else. Thanks!
I hope you gave it a try and it turned out delicious!
This recipe is so perfect to use up the ripe peaches and blueberries! I gotta use up some of my garden basil for this amazing cobbler.
Lokness @ The Missing Lokness recently posted…Chocolate Dipped Frozen Key Lime Pies
I have the hardest time growing basil. Lucky you to have some still in the garden!
What a perfect end of summer dessert! I love the basil and lemon in the biscuits and bet they would be fantastic on their own as well!!
Kathryn @ FoodieGirlChicago recently posted…Tortellini Pasta Salad
You are right they would be delicious on their own. May have to give that a shot with a smear of lemon curd.