The Best Cobbler Recipe in the History of Baking

Alright, so that may be a bit of a hyperbole, but seriously this cobbler is a-mazing. I have The Pioneer Woman to thank for this mind-altering, life-changing cobbler. In some alternate dream world where this blog turns into a must read for thousands, maybe she and I will meet someday at a conference. We'd exchange witty banter and discuss our mutual love for butter. Seriously, butter makes any recipe better. Butter or cheese. I never said what I bake is healthy, people.


Anyway, before I digress even further, here's the recipe:

Patsy's Blackberry Cobbler
makes 8 servings
1/4 pound (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar*
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup milk
2 cups fresh (or frozen) blackberries (or blueberries, peaches, raspberries, etc.)

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 3-quart baking dish with butter. (I use an 8" x 8" baking dish and it works just as well).
2. Place the stick of butter in a microwave-save dish. Heat in microwave for 30-45 seconds, until melted.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk 1 cup of the sugar with the flour and milk.
4. Whisk in the melted butter.
5. Rise the blackberries and pat them dry.
6. Pour the batter into the baking dish. Spring the blackberries evenly over the top of the batter.
7. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over the blackberries.
8. Bake for 1 hour, or until golden brown and bubbly. When 10 minutes left of cooking time remain, sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the top.
   

mmmmmm

*I use just over a cup of sugar in my version, it all depends on your sweet tooth. Feel free to add more/less. 

If you love this recipe, there are a ton more in The Pioneer Woman's Cookbook. (No, I was not paid to say that).

Hope you love this cobbler as much as I do!

Miller's Apple Crisp

I love fall for so many reasons; the weather, the clothes, the holidays, the colors, the sports, the activities and the food. 


Oh God, the food. 


One of my favorites is an apple crisp recipe that my dear friend M.E.M. shared with me a few years ago. It's simple, quick and filled with quintessential fall ingredients.

Miller's Apple Crisp

filling:
4 cups apples, peeled & sliced
1 Tblsp flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tblsp water

topping:
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt

-Mix filling ingredients together in large bowl.

-Mix topping ingredients together in a separate bowl.

-Grease a pie, 8x8 or 9x13 brownie pan, (depending on how thick you prefer your apple crisp).

-Add filling then topping, spreading evenly.

-Bake for 35 minutes at 375 degrees. Et voila!

**My friend A.R.S. and I decided to shake things up a bit and melt Havarti cheese for the last 10 minutes on top of the crisp. Result: an act of culinary genius. Havarti was delicious, but a shredded Gouda or Gruyère would also be wonderful. 

Then again, adding cheese to just about anything is usually a great idea. 

Saturday Market

This past weekend, a good friend from Madison made her first visit to Eugene. We both adore the Farmer's Market back home, so the natural thing to do Saturday morning was investigate its western counterpart. I've been to Eugene's Saturday Market (not called "Farmer's Market" here) three weeks in a row and can honestly say it doesn't hold a candle to Madison.

Here's my take on what Madison's market has to offer: 85% fresh produce, 10% coffee and pastries and 5% arts/crafts (not to mention it's held on Madison's iconic capitol square).

Now here's the what Eugene offers: 90% arts/crafts and 5% fresh produce, 4% pastries and 1% wine.

Also, the Market out here doesn't even begin until 10am. Madisonians reading this can laugh, considering many Madison Farmer's Market vendors start setting up between 5:30 and 6am. (Although I'm quite certain my dear Aunt C. is the only person who gets there that early to peruse the produce, haha). Whatever it takes to beat the mass exodus of people, right?

It's clear I have a near and dear spot in my heart for the Madison Farmer's Market. Even with my obvious devotion, I will say Eugene puts on a beautiful event (complete with organized music performances) every Saturday. Here are a few pictures from my latest Saturday Market excursion:

(that's a lot of beta carotene!)

(they do seem to put a lot of effort into their displays here, don't you think?)

(myself and C.M.)