Strawberry season is in full swing here in Baldwin County, Alabama. I’ve already made a couple of batches of Tiny Batch Strawberry Preserves, I’ve eaten a fair number of strawberry spinach salads, and I still can’t make myself pass up local strawberries at the farmer’s market. Luckily I have a dandy recipe to use up a pound of strawberries in fine fashion: Strawberry Cobbler. I have one in the oven and you would not BELIEVE how good my kitchen smells right now.
This Strawberry Cobbler is easy and so good, and it’s good for you! Even though it’s cooked, Strawberry Cobbler is a reasonable source of vitamin C, fiber, folate, and a bunch of other good things, including a slew of minerals that are more readily absorbed after cooking. So please go right ahead and feel smugly virtuous about having fruit for dessert. You will have earned it.
Further, I think any recipe that I can have ready in less than an hour and leaves me only two bowls and a couple of spoons to wash is a good recipe. This one fits the bill. I can throw Strawberry Cobbler together in just a few minutes and stick it in the oven when we sit down to dinner. And easy? The hardest part is slicing the strawberries which is, of course, a cinch.
Some of you may wonder why I call for balsamic vinegar in a dessert recipe. Well, you know how a little coffee amps up the flavor of chocolate? Balsamic vinegar does the exact same thing to strawberries. If you don’t have balsamic vinegar, feel free to substitute lemon juice, or just leave it out. 
I cooked mine in a cast iron skillet, and no, it didn’t ruin the seasoning. If you want something you can soak or toss in the dishwasher, an 8 X 8 baking pan or a 1 ½ quart casserole dish will work nicely. If you’re taking it somewhere, a double recipe will be fine in a 9 X 13 dish. Just butter whatever you use and you’re good.
Finally, don’t forget the vanilla ice cream. But if you do, spray whipped cream or even non-dairy whipped topping (that’s Cool Whip to you and me) will certainly do in a pinch.
Oh, and one more thing: This recipe works with blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, even apples, pears, plums, and peaches, too. The balsamic vinegar is fine with all berries, but I use lemon juice for other fruits. I like to sprinkle a little cinnamon in with apples, and a little ginger in with the peaches, pears and plums. And I’m working on a savory tomato cobbler for the summer. Watch this space!
LOVE!
Strawberry Cobbler
Ingredients
- Berry filling:
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 T. balsamic vinegar
- 2 T. cornstarch
- 3 cups sliced strawberries
- 2 T. cold butter, diced
- Topping:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 T. brown sugar
- 1 ½ t. baking powder
- ½ t. baking soda
- 1 t. salt
- 5 T. cold butter, diced
- ½-⅔ cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°. Combine brown sugar, balsamic vinegar and cornstarch in a medium mixing bowl. Add the strawberries, stirring well to totally coat the strawberries. Allow berries to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set the 2 T. diced butter aside.
- In another bowl combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix well. Add the 5 T. diced butter and using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut/rub the butter into the flour until mixture resembles coarse sand. Using a fork, stir in 1/2 cup buttermilk only until no dry flour shows. If you still see dry flour, add more buttermilk a little at a time, mixing well after each addition, until no more dry flour remains.
- Butter a 10" iron skillet, an 8 X 8 baking pan, or a 1 ½ or 2 quart casserole dish. Pour the strawberries and all their juices into the baking dish. Dot with the remaining butter. Using your fingers, sprinkle the topping evenly over the berries. Bake for 30 or 35 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.
YUM!