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Blueberry and Nectarine Cobbler with Buttermilk Biscuits

Warm and cozy. Blueberry and nectarine cobbler shown here without the visual distraction of ice cream.
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difficulty:
yield:

8 to 10 servings
time:

About 30 minutes to prep, 40 minutes to bake

This cobbler can be made with ripe plums instead of nectarines. Peel the plums with a small paring knife. Slice each plum in half from pole to pole around the pit, then carve into  8 sections  using the paring knife to pry the pieces off the pit. Cut each quarter into half or thirds and drop the pieces into a large mixing bowl.

introduction

You could be ladylike and dab a drop of jam on a hot, split buttermilk biscuit. Or you could plant your face in a big bowl of cobbler. Guess it depends on your mood. When a cobbler is good, it is very, very good—a fine edge of tartness in the warm fruit filling, the fine, fluffy biscuits getting soused below deck. And the disposition of the dish overall: not too sweet, not too rich, not too fancy, and with luck eaten straight from the oven, its lava-hot filling tamed with a scoop of ice cream.

Baking Notes

The biscuits need to be a bit more than half baked and set before dipping themselves in the fruit, and the filling itself must be boiling. We’ve set up strategic arrangements in this recipe, while keeping the overall procedure as straightforward as possible.

A cobbler’s biscuits will not benefit from a second day sit. Eat it as soon as possible!

equipment mise en place

For this recipe, you will need a digital kitchen scale, a rasp-style grater, a small mixing bowl, a whisk, a sharp paring knife, a large mixing bowl, a rubber spatula, a 2½- to 3-quart baking or gratin dish, aluminum foil, a baking sheet, parchment paper, a box grater, a dinner fork, a timer, a rolling pin (optional), a ruler, and a 2½-inch biscuit cutter.

  • for the filling:

    • 6
      ounces sugar
    • 1.5
      ounces cornstarch
    • ⅛
      teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 2
      teaspoons grated lemon zest
    • 2
      pounds ripe nectarines
    • 1½
      pounds blueberries
    • 2
      tablespoons juice from 1 large, juicy lemon
    • 3
      tablespoons red wine

  • for the biscuits:

  1.  

    Prepare the filling: Turn the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and lemon zest into a small mixing bowl and whisk well to combine. Set aside. Cut each nectarine in half longitudinally around the pit, twist the halves to separate them, and remove the pit. Cut each half into 4 wedges and each wedge into thirds. Drop the pieces into a large mixing bowl, and then add the blueberries, lemon juice, and wine. Using a rubber spatula, mix gently to combine. Add the sugar mixture and mix gently once again. Turn the filling into a 2½- to 3-quart baking dish, cover with aluminum foil, and set aside.

  2.  

    Begin the biscuits: Adjust the racks to the upper- and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Turn the two flours, 2 teaspoons of the sugar, the baking powder, and the salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine and break up any fine lumps in the flour. Drop the cold butter into the flour mixture and roll it around until coated. Grate the butter into the flour mixture on the large holes of a box grater, pausing from time to time to toss the butter shreds into the flour and to re-coat the chunk of butter. Pour the buttermilk into the flour mixture and toss lightly with a dinner fork to combine. With your hands, knead lightly and briefly in the bowl to bring the dough together. The dough will feel very soft and moist. If it does not, drizzle buttermilk into the dough a little at a time and work together lightly with the fingers.

  3.  

    Bake the filling: When the oven comes up to temperature and once the biscuit dough has come together, place the filling on the lower oven rack, set a timer for 10 minutes, and then return to the biscuits. 

  4.  

    Cut out the biscuits: Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour, and then pat it with your hands or roll it with a rolling pin to an even ⅝-inch thickness. Dip a 2½-inch biscuit cutter into flour, stamp out 8 biscuits, and place them shoulder to shoulder in rows of three on the prepared baking sheet. Gather the scraps and, without adding more flour, pat or roll them to a ⅝-inch thickness. Stamp out 4 more biscuits and arrange them on the baking sheet, forming four shoulder-to-shoulder rows of three.

  5.  

    Finish the cobbler: When the timer sounds, remove the filling from the oven and stir the fruit. Replace the foil, return the filling to the lower rack, and slide the biscuits onto the upper rack. Bake for 10 minutes, until the biscuits have risen and are beginning to color. Stir the fruit once again; return the dish, uncovered, to the lower rack; and rotate the baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes more. Brush the biscuits with buttermilk and sprinkle with the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar. Remove the filling from the oven and arrange the biscuits on top, lightly pressing each one into the fruit. Bake the cobbler until the filling is thickened and bubbling around the fruit and the biscuits are golden brown, about 10 minutes more. Let cool for about 10 minutes. Serve hot, with ice cream.