Sweetened blackberries, layered in with crumb topping and baked.

Blackberry Crumb Cobbler

A few years back, I was feeling a little nostalgic for those days when blackberry picking was a common thing that children did, so I planted two thornless blackberry bushes I purchased from Cottage Farms on QVC.

I think I've had them for three summers and those things have been producing like crazy! If you decide to plant some here's two things I have learned.

The first year they grew like mad.

The best of summer berries in a comforting cobbler. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the perfect summer indulgence.

Summer Berry Cobbler

I guess cobblers are about as popular in the summer as anytime for us southerners. We just turn on the oven and crank down the air conditioning here in the humid deep south. I guess we contend with high summer electric bills like folks up north do with heating bills in the winter.

Could you imagine only ever having a winter cobbler made with canned peaches? Not that there's anything wrong with that - I love those too - but I sure love a cobbler made from fresh fruit when those fresh summer peaches arrive, as much as I do a cobbler made with the luscious fresh berries of summer we all love too.

 

Winter Peach Cobbler, made with canned peaches and a sugar and flour crumble.

Winter Peach Cobbler

When I went to make some spiced peach halves recently, I accidentally opened a large can of sliced peaches, so I thought it would be a great time to put up this version of peach cobbler. As if any Southerner would need an excuse for a comforting pan of warm peach cobbler, slap in the middle of winter, right?

I call this a winter cobbler because it's intended to be made when peaches are out of season, though I see no problem with using canned peaches or frozen peaches any time of the year frankly. It is especially excellent when made with peaches you've home canned yourself, though store bought canned peaches are delicious too.

The classic, old fashioned "Cuppa" cobbler, made with fresh strawberries.

Fresh Strawberry Cobbler

Early Louisiana strawberries have been so abundant and affordable since their arrival, that they've been a regular purchase on our grocery list all month. Now we're starting to see the Florida berries show up in the markets.

Summertime Peach Cobbler - super easy cobbler made with fresh peaches, cinnamon sugar and a simple buttery batter.

Summertime Easy Fresh Peach Cobbler

Cobbler has to be just about the one easiest dessert in existence, yet in its simplicity, it is both heart and belly warming. It's hard to see one without throwing a craving on yourself to make one!

Apart from an old fashioned dumpling style cobbler, this is based on a very basic, old school batter that many of us, including me, have used for years, and it works well with a wide variety of fruit.

It is often referred to as cuppa cuppa cuppa cobbler, or 1-1-1 cobbler because it used one cup of butter, one cup of flour and one cup of sugar, though I've revised mine a bit from the original, reducing the butter and, because I like it a little more cakey, I use a method that is just a tad bit different. It's a very simple recipe and it works.

 

A tender, fluffy sweet buttermilk cobbler dough, dropped like dumplings into freshly stewed blackberries and topped with homemade whipped cream.

Iron Skillet Blackberry Dumpling Cobbler

When I was in what we used to call junior high school, it's hard to believe now, but we actually used to walk home from school a lot.  It wasn't that we didn't have an easier way home - we certainly did - but there was something much more peaceful about that long, casual stroll from school to home than there was riding in that hot, smelly bus.

Super easy fresh apple cobbler made with cinnamon sugar, fresh apples, pecans and a simple butter batter - highly adaptable too. Use this batter with peaches, strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, mixed berries, pear - whatever you have!

Fresh Apple Pecan Cobbler

It's fall, and that mean apples are both plentiful and cheap right now and even though Mother Nature cannot seem to decide whether we are in full blown summer or fall down south, I thought that an apple cobbler sounded so good. I've mentioned before that I'm not really much on "seasonal" cooking anyway because I like to cook what I have a taste for, when I have a taste for it, and my taste buds don't seem to have a calendar.