When I think of the perfect summer dessert, I think of something that makes use of the wonderful seasonal fruit that is available. What better way to bring together fresh juicy peaches and delicious blueberries than in a simple cobbler? I've probably been overdoing my consumption of both of these fruits. I could easily eat three peaches a day, and a pint of blueberries in one sitting is nowhere near a challenge for me, so I decided to take it a step further with a cobbler. For years my dad has been making my grandma's cobbler recipe, and he almost always uses cherries, which yields a delicious final product. The great thing about a cobbler is its versatility; you can use a wide variety of fruit when making a cobbler, you just need to have some juice in addition to the fruit itself. Because I was using fresh (vs. frozen) fruit, I needed juice from another source, so I used some pomegranate juice that was in the fridge. It was a nice element in the cobbler, but because it's expensive, you might want to use some other kind of juice. Not surprisingly, I had to do a little modification of the recipe to nix the gluten, but I was very pleased with the outcome of the experiment. As I mentioned, you could use other kinds of fruit in place of peaches and blueberries, such as cherries. Either peaches or blueberries on their own would be good too! I served mine with a scoop of Breyer's French Vanilla ice cream, and everyone loved it.
Essie's Gluten Free Cobbler
1/4 cup softened butter
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup gluten free flour blend (I used 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill g-free All Purpose Baking Flour, 1/4 cup sweet sorghum flour and 1/4 cup tapioca flour + 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups fruit
1 cup fruit juice
Directions
Heat oven to 375. Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy, then stir in dry ingredients alternately with milk. Blend until smooth. Pour batter into 2 quart casserole dish, then spoon fruit over the top. Sprinkle fruit with a small amount of sugar, then pour the fruit juice over the top. Bake cobbler for 40-45 minutes. (Fruit and juice will sink to the bottom during baking and the batter will form a 'cake' on the top.) Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
Serves 6.
