Hot Water Cobbler

My husband found this recipe on the internet, it was called The Best in the West Berry Cobbler.  He said that it had 22 reviews and all of them were positive.  With the recipe in hand, he headed to the kitchen to bake us a blueberry cobbler.

This cobbler recipe is like no other cobbler recipe that I have seen before.  The most interesting part of the recipe is that you pour boiling water over the batter and sugar layers without stirring it in at all just before you place it in the oven.  Leaving a layer of water floating on the top.  I was very skeptical about this step but at least 22 others had done it before with great results, so who was I to question this method?

Pour hot water over the top without mixing.

This turned out to be a wonderful recipe!  The finished product had a beautifully browned top with the berries oozing up the sides.  The best way I can describe the topping is that it had a crisp sugary top that almost glistened and a moist cake finish just below it. The fresh blueberries added a gentle level of tartness which brought everything in balance. 

You could use pretty much any kind of berries or a combination.  One of my husbands favorite combinations is peach and blueberries.

The batter will be very thick.

Kono made a couple of changes to the original recipe.  First he substituted lemon sugar for the regular sugar that he used to sprinkle over the top to give it a lemony twist.  The second was a no brainer.  The original recipe called for shortening, I don’t think so?, at least not in this butter loving house.

BLUEBERRY COBBLER

BERRIES

3              cups       blueberries

1              Tbsp.     cornstarch (2 Tbsp. total)

Toss berries with 1 Tbsp. cornstarch and place in the bottom of a buttered 8X8 square baking dish. 

BATTER

3              Tbsp.     butter, softened

¾             cups       sugar (1 ¼ cup total)

1              cup         flour

1              tsp.        baking powder

¼             tsp.        salt

½             cup         milk

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

Cream the butter with the sugar.  Add the dry mix and milk alternately to the creamed butter until it is combined.  Batter will be thick.  Spread batter over berries.

TOPPING

½             cup         lemon sugar or granulated sugar

1              Tbsp.     cornstarch

1              cup         boiling water

Combine sugar with 1 Tbsp. cornstarch and sprinkle evenly over the batter.  Pour boiling water over the every thing.  DON’T MIX!

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes then 375 for 5 minutes.