Apple Cobbler

For years, this apple cobbler recipe has been one of my father’s “signature” apple dishes (knowing my dad, bemused by the thought of his having a “signature” anything, he would probably agree to this statement with dramatic flourish and an affected British accent – “Oh yus, indeed, one of my signatcha dishes”). The cobbler usually starts showing up on the family menu at the end of August, beginning of September, when the great-for-baking, tart Granny Smith apples begin falling off the tree. The cobbler is packed with slices of green apples, seasoned with cinnamon, lemon juice, and vanilla, and topped with a thick biscuit-y crust, with a touch of ginger and orange peel.

Apple Cobbler Recipe

Note: we like our cobblers and pies fairly tart; you can easily add more sugar to the filling if you like it a bit sweeter than what we have here.

INGREDIENTS

Filling ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sugar (or more, up to 1/2 cup, to taste)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 3 lbs. tart apples (such as granny smith), peeled, cored, and sliced (about 6 large apples)
• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crust ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 2 Tbsp coarsely chopped crystallized ginger
• Zest of one orange
• 1 cup heavy cream, plus more for glaze

METHOD

 
 

1 Filling directions: Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Stir in apple slices, lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar and flour. Cover partially and cook until just tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Transfer to buttered 10" pie dish. (This recipe has the crust only on the top).

 
 

2 Crust directions: In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in ginger. Stir orange zest into cream; then, using a fork, stir cream into flour until the doug holds together. Gather dough into a ball; knead briefly then roll out to a little larger than pie dish. Transfer to dish; trim off excess. Score the center so the steam can escape while baking. Brush with cream.

 

3 Bake 10 minutes in a 450ºF (230°C) oven. Reduce heat to 375ºF (190°C) and bake 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream.

Yield: Serves 6-8