So, it is cobbler season, and my oven is currently not functional! Sadness. It over heated some time back and I haven’t moved forward with getting a repair service to come and look at it. My “spidey senses”, intuition, or just plain procrastination have been telling me “wait a little while – don’t get in a rush to fix it”. So I haven’t. But if nothing else has malfunctioned with the range by October – Apple Crisp and Pumpkin Crunch season – you can bet I will be calling the repair guy!

With our collection of about every other piece of cooking equipment known to man (and woman), we have not been going hungry, trust me. About the only thing I haven’t been able to make so far is home-made pizzas.  The “complaint department” has officially stopped taking any further complaints on that issue.

Being that I am frugal, a “DIY-er”, and always aspiring to be more self-sufficient, I decided that there has to be more than one way to make the fruit cobblers I love.  Thus, the decision to experiment was made.  I should add that I inherited all of the above from parents who grew up during the Great Depression in Midwest farm country. Grandparents who always grew, prepared, and shared all sorts of deliciousness may have also contributed to a few of my inherited traits.

First experiment: Peach cobbler.  Cooked on very low heat, stovetop, in heavy enameled cast iron dutch oven. As feared, the cobbler dough on the bottom scorched. The un-burned upper layers were scooped out, consumed, and very tasty.  More ooey & gooey than a baked cobbler, but I happen to like ooey & gooey.

Second experiment: Peach cobbler.  Steamed in DIY double boiler.  As luck would have it, my Pyrex pie plate nestled perfectly on to the rim of my stainless steel soup pot.  And the lid for the soup pot fit perfectly atop the pie plate! Cobbler was steamed for approximately 1 hr. & 15 min. over gently boiling water.  The beginning level of the boiling water was just below the bottom of the pie plate.

Note to self – use less butter than recipe calls out for a baked cobbler! No burning experienced with this method, and my taste tests received an “mmmmm…..yummy” rating. Again, more ooey & gooey than a baked cobbler. Maybe somewhat more of a consistency of an old-fashioned fruit pudding? I packed this experiment up and sent it along to the office with my husband.  His co-workers gave it a thumbs up and the pie plate came back scraped clean.

Third experiment: Blueberry cobbler. Steamed in same DIY double boiler.  Reduced butter by ½ the amount called out in recipe.  It’s ooey and it’s gooey – and I’m not sharing this one!!

Here is my favorite cobbler recipe. So simple and so delicious! I use an air-bake cake pan when I bake in the oven, to prevent any scorching of the bottom crust or fruit sugars.

Fresh Fruit Cobbler

• 1 tablespoon + 6 tablespoons salted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/4 cups + 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 cups fresh fruit of your choice (my favorites are blackberry, peach, or blueberry)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease an 8” x 8” pan with 1 tablespoon of butter.  In a separate bowl, combine the egg, flour, and 1-1/4 cups of sugar until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ¼ cup of the flour mixture to the bottom of the pan.  Pour in the fruit and sprinkle the lemon juice on top. Spread the remaining flour mixture evenly over the fruit. Melt 6 tablespoons of butter and drizzle evenly over flour mixture. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar on top.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.  Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Serve in individual dessert dishes and top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (optional).

Yield: 6 – 8 servings.