Any Fruit Cobbler

Any Fruit Cobbler

I'm missing my mom today.  She passed away on Memorial Day this year (an appropriate day since my mom loved her holidays.)  So many times, while growing up, we would come home from church to the smell of something cooking in the crock pot.  Since dinner would already be ready, Mom would whip up - effortlessly, it seemed - a little something sweet for after dinner.  My Dad loved his sweets.  So did Mom, but she wouldn't eat them with the family.  I would always catch her sneaking them later, though.  One of our favorite desserts was cobbler.  She usually made it with a quart of home-canned cherries.  Sometimes it was peaches.  What ever she used, it was so good.  I used to think it was magic.  She would spread the batter on the bottom of this old, round, flowered casserole dish (you know the one.)  Then, she would pour the fruit on top of the batter.  But when the cobbler was done, the fruit was on the bottom with the juice all thick and sweet and the batter was on the top, all golden and crisp!  Magic!

When I got home today from church, I smelled the few ripe peaches I had on the counter.  Dinner was ready (not in a crock pot but the willing effort of PoppaH), so I thought I would whip up a little something sweet for after dinner.  This is Mom's recipe, written down years ago.  I used fresh fruit instead of canned/jarred, but the batter is the same.  Thanks, Mom.

Cobbler (I doubled the batter in the pics)

1 quart canned fruit with juice OR one quart sliced fruit sprinkled with 1-2 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

1/3 cup shortening (I have used butter or oil with good results)

1 teaspoon vanilla

If using fresh fruit, peel and slice and sprinkle with a little sugar (1-2 Tbs.)  Set aside so fruit can form a little juice.

Mix the remaining ingredients together - no particular order - until you have a thick batter.

Butter a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish on the bottom and sides.  Spread the batter in the bottom of the dish.  Put the fruit with juice on top of the batter.  Dot with butter if desired.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 - 60 minutes or when a toothpick inserted into the batter comes out clean.