Happy Independence Day! Let’s take a moment to express our sincere thanks to the men and women of the United States military for protecting our freedom and for their bravery, selflessness, and sacrifice.
Being an American is pretty awesome, no matter what anyone says about politics. We have a beautiful country with a diverse landscape and ample natural resources. We have freedom of speech, the press, and religion. We have the right to vote. We have access to education. We have choices, and we have hope. Those are amazing gifts, and not one of us should take them for granted.
In celebration of Independence Day, I wanted to make a traditional American dessert. Since the blackberry bushes in our yard yielded an impressive crop in the past few days, Mike suggested blackberry cobbler. Cobbler originated in the British American colonies, where settlers lacked the ingredients and equipment they needed for English desserts. To remedy this, enterprising colonial women combined uncooked biscuit dough or dumplings with stewed fruit, and cobblers were born. Cobblers are so named not only because they resemble a cobbled street when baked, but also because their ingredients were quite literally cobbled together.
Mike, a veteran of the Maryland Army National Guard, proclaimed this cobbler excellent.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups blackberries
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
Preparation
Rinse blackberries well and place in a medium bowl. Add sugar, mix well, and let stand for about 20 minutes, mixing occasionally to distribute the sugar evenly.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and milk; mix well.
Add melted butter; mix very well.
Pour batter into an ungreased 8-inch baking dish.
Spoon berry/sugar mixture over the top.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the dough rises and turns golden brown.
Serve warm or let cool; add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream if you like.
amy bakes in the 'burgh 
We love cobbler, too. I often make a blackberry cobbler for Bill, who adores pie. Cobbler is much easier to…cobble together…and I feel like I am cheating. Frozen berries work just as well, since we are not as lucky to have a black berry bush. Peach cobbler is also delectable, oh and peach/raspberry.
Ooh, peach/raspberry sounds excellent. And I think the colonial ladies who invented cobbler would be proud that you’re still baking them! They wouldn’t say, “now, that lass could make a pie but she’s cheating by making cobbler.” I think they’d say “well done you, for making something delicious for your family.” 🙂