Cobblers

One of the most legendary of Southern desserts, deep-dish fruit and berry cobblers are made different ways with different styles of filling and different crusts. Some cobblers use fruits and berries that are naturally softened with sugar before baking, the one stipulation being that they must be perfectly ripe; others involve preboiling the ingredients to produce maximum juice and flavor when the cobbler is baked. Cobbler crusts can be made with standard all-purpose flour or flour and cornmeal dough, with a tangy buttermilk biscuit dough, or with a crispy, feathery pastry dough leavened with lard. Cobblers can be made with both a bottom and top crust (to contain as much moisture and flavor as possible) or simply a top crust, either vented or woven into a lattice. Some incorporate crunchy pieces of baked pastry strips or pieces in the filling itself for nice textural contrast. No matter how you construct a hot cobbler, the main principle is that the filling should never be either soggy or dried out and the crust must be crisp enough to create good counterpoint with the soft fruits or berries—not to mention the obligatory scoop of ice cream on top.