Apple Cobbler Made EASY!

Also Apple-Blackberry cobbler, blackberry cobbler, peach cobbler, etc.  MMM!Remember your mother's apple cobbler hot from the oven?No? Ok, how about your grandmother's? No?Talk about a deprived childhood! Ok, have you ever been in a bakery and smelled it there?Right!Now wouldn't you rather make your own for your kids, to create that positive memory from childhood?It's actually so simple!It doesn't matter if you're not a chef or have never made an apple cobbler before! Following these illustrated directions ANYONE can cook a perfect apple, blackberry, peach or mixed fruit cobbler for Thanksgiving, Christmas or any occasion!I'll demonstrate an apple-blackberry cobbler, but the recipe works with almost any fruit; just use 4 cups in total, of the prepared fruit(s). If you still would rather make Apple Crunch (my favourite), Apple Crisp or Apple Crumble, click on the links!

Ingredients

• Fruit - 3 to 4 cups of washed, peeled, cored or pitted, apples, peaches, cherries and or blackberries . For apples, that will require about 8 medium or 5 large apples of fresh, sweet varieties: Best is Honeycrisp; it's sweet and juicy!After that: Pink Lady, Gala, Fuji, Jonagold, Red Delicious, Jonathon. If you can't get any of these, then try McIntosh, Winesap, Rome, etc.If you are making peach cobbler, you'll need about 8 peaches.
• About 1 cup sugar (you can substitute Splenda, if you would rather, in equal amounts)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup flour (plain, all-purpose flour, white or whole wheat, as you prefer)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional - I don't add it, but some people are saltaholics and must add salt to everything; )
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup milk (nonfat, low-fat or regular, as your arteries prefer)
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup apple juice or water
• Optional: 1/2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts
• Seasonings:

  1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
   

Directions:

Step 1- Wash the fruit

Just wash them in cold water, no soap. We're going to remove the skins anyway, so don't spend too much time on it. You can remove any stickers that the grocery store put on the apples, though.Peelers often get suck on those.

Step 2 - Peel the apples and/or peaches

The fastest way to peel the apples is one of these peelers!With firm apples, it takes about 20 seconds per apple. These apple peelers don't work well on soft, mushy apples or apples with soft spots on them. In that case your stuck with a hand peeler!

Once they're peeled, remove any remaining brown spots (see the photo at left - before removing the blemishes.)

Same with peaches, if you are making peach cobbler.Just peel them (you can dunk the peaches in boiling water for 45 seconds then into ice water, and the skins will usually slide right off)

Step 3 - Core and slice the apples (or pit and slice the peaches)

You can use a knife, but the $5 corer/slicer you see in the photo is available at any kitchen store (Bed, Bath and beyond, Wal-Mart, etc.), and is the fastest, easiest way. But any slices that are between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch thick will do.

Remove seeds, stems, any hard parts near the seeds and and brown or soft spots.Chop the apples or peaches up a bit - don't get too carried away, you don't want mush.

Step 4 - Mix the fruit, liquids and some of the sugar

Mixed 2 cups of apple slices and 2 cups of the washed blackberries with 1/2 cup sugar (or Splenda) in a bowl.Same with peaches, raspberries, cherries or other fruit.As long as you have 3 or 4 cups of prepared fruit in total, it will work great! Mix in the 3 tablespoons lemon juice and 1/2 cup apple juice or water, and any nuts you want to add (other than family members; no cannibalism is allowed) now.

Pour the fruit mixture into a lightly greased baking dish or pan.

Step 5 - Mix the dry ingredients

If you have a sifter, sift the 1 cup of flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon (optional) of salt, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon together.

If you don't have a sifter, just use a whisk or fork.Actually, while I'm sure the sifter does a better job, I've never been able to tell a difference in the final product;

Step 6 - Whip the butter and some of the sugar

In another bowl, use an electric mixer (or a hand mixer really, really fast! :) to whip 1/4 of butter and 1/2 cup sugar together until smooth and creamy. Then add in the 1/2 cup milk and mix well!

Step 7 - mix the butter/sugar with dry ingredients

Mix the butter-sugar-milk mixture from step 6 with the flour mixture from step 5/

Step 8 - Spread the topping over the fruit

Pour the batter over the fruit.It doesn't exactly "pour"? Well, dump it on the fruit.Then sort of spread it around a bit, so it's even.It should look a bit like the photo at right. It may not completely cover it - that's ok, it expands.I used an 8 inch pan that was 3 inches deep.If you use a wider, more shallow pan, you may want to double the topping.

Step 10 - Bake

Bake at 350 F (180 C) for about 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Step 11 - Done

Let it cool until you won't burn your mouth! Serve warm. Makes 8 servings for normal sized people.It's great with vanilla ice cream. (Like you needed to be told that; )