Recipe Snapshot: Blueberry Cobbler

Well, it's officially summer, and about that time of year, with blueberries everywhere.  I don't know about you all, but I often forget about blueberries in the colder months (I think it's a defense mechanism), but then in the summer, when they are bountiful, I just cannot get enough.  One of the simplest ways to enjoy them is to bake them into a yummy homemade cobbler.  It's far easier than pie, but just as delicious, in my humblest of opinions.

Forgive me the bad picture--while I did in fact bake a blueberry cobbler last weekend when my father-in-law was in town, I did not take any pictures of it.  The pictured cobbler was made a couple of summers ago, pre-blog.  But you get the idea, right?

So what's the difference between a cobbler and a crisp, or a crumble?  Well, this isn't scientific or well-researched, but a cobbler is most likely to have a cakey or biscuity topping, while crisps are usually topped with nuts and/or oats, and crumbled with, well...crumbles.  I prefer cobblers, personally, because you get both a soft and fluffy topping AND a crisp crust.  Win-win.

Recipe below the cut!

 I use a variation on this cobbler recipe with other fruits--I've made plain cherry, cherry and rhubarb, and even peach and blueberry.  All have been delicious and met with lots of "mmmm"s and "yummy"s.  The cornstarch/sugar/boiling water at the end is what gives the cobbler it's sweet sauciness, and helps the crust get brown and crisp.  I've kept the original recipe I found online mostly as-is, but have reduced the amount of sugar called for significantly (my adjustments are below), added some vanilla, and on occasion, substituted some lavender buds in place of the cinnamon.  Y'all know I love lavender--and it goes really well with blueberries. All this needs is a scoop of good vanilla ice cream, and...mmmm.

Yummy Blueberry Cobbler, recipe adapted by Julie, original from AllRecipes.com
Time: about 1 hr. Serves: 8.

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh blueberries, cleaned and de-stemmed
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar, divided
• 4 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon (optional) or 1 teaspoon dried lavender buds (optional)
• 3/4 cup boiling water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease an 8x8 or 11x7 inch baking dish.
2. Spread the blueberries out to cover the entire bottom of the baking dish. Squeeze the juice from the lemon over them.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until smooth. Stir in flour and baking powder alternately with the milk until smooth. Stir in vanilla. Batter will be thin. Spoon over the berries, and spread evenly.
4. In a small bowl, stir together remaining 3/4 cups of sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Sprinkle over the top of the batter. Dust with a pinch of cinnamon or sprinkle on lavender buds, then pour the boiling water over the entire dish.
5. Bake for 45 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown. Serve warm.