I was inspired to make this cherry cobbler by my husband’s lovely roses from his garden and Jo cooks.  As you may know, I rarely make dessert but have made cobblers before because they’re easy and forgive the baker’s disinterest and impatience.  I decided to try Jo’s recipe because of the batter and the lavish amount of butter in the baking pan.

Everyone should have a cherry pitter.  The first time I needed one I didn’t have one and had to use a hairpin.  Be sure to look at my Foie Gras with Cherry Sauce blog.  Even better than a one-cherry-at-a-time pitter, the multiple pitter is high tech.  I have one in France that pits 8 cherries at a time and this one here in Pennsylvania pits 6 cherries at a time.  Both are great.

The pitters make a neat little hole in the bottom of the cherries while maintaining the shape.

Jo uses a 12 inch cast iron skillet for her cobbler but I didn’t have that size so used a 12 inch pie pan.  I was amazed and gratified by the amount of butter poured into the pan before the batter and cherries!  As M. Parret says, it was “correct”.  I did decrease the amount of sugar in the batter by half, it just wasn’t necessary.

Thanks to my husband for the rose garden.  I enjoyed making this for him as much as I enjoy the roses.

Cherry Cobbler

2 lbs ripe bing cherries, pitted and halved

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/8 tsp salt

1 cup flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup hot melted butter

Cook the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and salt in a sauce pan on medium heat until the mixture just begins to boil, about 5 minutes.  Set aside.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together into a large bowl.  Beat the egg into the milk and then add to the flour, whisking until smooth.

Pour the hot butter into a 12 inch cast iron skillet or pie pan, pour in the batter, then top evenly with the cherries.  Bake in a 375 F preheated oven for 40-45 minutes.

Spoon the cobbler from the pan into bowls and eat as is or serve with a scoop of ice cream.