Southern Cuisine: Easy Blackberry Cobbler

Blackberries appear in several southern desserts. Blackberry cobbler is a tasty southern food that I grew up eating. I grew up in a suburban neighborhood, but there was a wooded area across the street that we referred to as simply “the woods.” Actually, I’m living in the same house I grew up in, and “the woods” remain largely unchanged. Only a small swath has been taken in by development. But I digress…

Anyway, in the summertime, my friends and I loved picking blackberries in the woods. I had a little metal pail I used to collect the fruits, one left over from some beach vacation, no doubt. Always, as I was scurrying out the back door in pursuit of berries, Mom would yell, “Watch out for snakes!”

Because of this constant warning, for years I was convinced that venomous serpents loved to eat blackberries and that they jealously guarded the brambles from would-be juvenile thieves such as my friends and I. I was probably 12 or so before I discovered that rattlesnakes and cottonmouths do not eat blackberries.

Mom always told me if I filled my pail, she’d make a blackberry cobbler. I set out each time to achieve that lofty goal, but as I started picking, the dark purple berries were usually too hard to resist. Most of them found their way to my mouth without ever reaching the pail. I would usually return home with the bottom of my receptacle barely covered in berries, my mouth and chin stained a dark tell-tale purple. Hope springs eternal, however, especially in the heart of a child.

“Is this enough for a cobbler?” I’d ask as I held the pail up for Mom’s inspection.

She would shake her head to indicate that no, I did not have a sufficient quantity for cobbler making. That was the typical scenario for most of my berry excursions. But then there were a few times, when the berries were especially thick and especially plump, that I did indeed fill the little pail. And for those times, my efforts were richly rewarded with a warm, gooey cobbler that smelled as good as it tasted!

Here’s the recipe. It’s quick, easy, and delicious!

What you’ll need:

2 cups of blackberries

1 cup + ¼ cup sugar

1 cup milk

1 cup self-rising flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 stick salted butter, melted

Wash berries and remove stems. Discard any under-ripe berries. Place the berries in a 2-quart buttered pyrex dish or other baking dish.

Sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over berries and stir well.

Mix together the cup of sugar, the milk, the flour, and the vanilla. Pour the batter evenly over the berries.

Drizzle the butter on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

Serve with vanilla ice cream.