Happy July 4th!!!

Here's to a wonderful Independence Day for all!

It's a beautiful day here in West Michigan and Steve and I look forward to celebrating the holiday this afternoon at Clear Lake with the extended TenHave clan.

Cherry-berry cobbler is on the dessert menu.



I'll give you a quick narrative (hmmm - do I ever do anything quickly in this blog?) of the recipe, my take on a peach blackberry cobbler from Emily Luchetti's book "Four-Star Desserts".

And since this is, after all, a classic American holiday, I'm giving you the ingredients in traditional American measures.

The cobbler topping is a delectable cornmeal dough made by combining 3/4 cup all purpose flour, 1/4 cup cornmeal (I used fine yellow), 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and a pinch of salt.

Sand in one stick (4 oz) cool, diced butter to coarse crumbs, toss in 1-2 tablespoons ice water and mix just until it comes together.  Easy-peasy!!

Roll the dough out between sheets of parchment or plastic wrap to a thickness of about 1/4 inch then chill in the fridge.

Cut desired shapes (I opted for a stars and stripes motif bien sûr) and hold them in the fridge or freezer until ready to use.

Heat your oven to 350ºF.

For a 9x13 clear Pyrex dish I prepped about 8 cups of fruit, about half of which was a combo of Rainier and dark sweet cherries that I had purchased at the Fulton Farmer's market.  Blueberries and raspberries filled out the mix.





Toss the fruit with a mixture of 1/2- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (see NOTE), 4 tablespoons cornstarch, a large pinch of salt and a half dozen or so grates of fresh nutmeg.  I also added about 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander.  Squeeze a bit of lemon juice in to help brighten the taste of the fruit.

NOTE:  when adding sugar, consider the natural sweetness or tartness of the fruit you are using; start your sugar addition on the lower end of the scale and add as needed to taste.

As you can see above, I have my dough cut and ready to go.

Place the fruit mixture in the Pyrex dish, drizzle 6 tablespoons melted butter over it and top with the dough shapes.

Egg wash the dough and sprinkle with sugar.  I like raw sugar - it gives the finished product a nice crunch.

ready for the oven

Bake at 350ºF for about 40-45 minutes until the topping is golden brown and the fruit filling is bubbling.

et voilà!

You can be sure we'll be enjoying this later in the day with some vanilla ice cream, oh yeah.




And a Happy July 4th to all!!