en la cocina: basic berry cobbler.

this is a basic recipe, which means that it's incredibly simple--but also delicious.  it's the first that i've made, and truly, you can't mess it up. i've found a few other recipes and even had one sent in by a friend, so i'll be spending much of my summer buying fresh blackberries at the market and whisking them into different variations of my favorite warm-weather dish. i'll let you know which i decide upon to be the best, but for now, you should give this one a try.

for the fruit, you'll need:

2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries (you could up the ante to 3 if you feel compelled)
1/2 C brown sugar
1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp grated lemon zest

and, for the dough:

1 1/3 C all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 Tbsp cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
2/3 C heavy cream or 1/2 C milk (c'mon...it's a treat...go for the cream!!)

wash and dry the berries.
toss with the above "fruit" ingredients.
spread evenly into an unbuttered baking dish, such as an 8x8 or an oval gratin. you can even use a glass pie dish if you so wish.

preheat the oven to 350.
prepare the dough:

whisk together first 4 ingredients in a bowl.
using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
add the cream.
mix with a wooden spoon just until the dough comes together and is evenly moist.
gently knead the dough in the bowl 5 to 10 times, turning and pressing any loose pieces into the dough.
dust the top and the bottom of the dough with a little flour and roll/pat the dough into the shape of the top of the baking dish you've chosen til it's between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick.
cut the dough into circles or squares, whatever your preference, and lay them on top of the fruit til it's entirely covered.
brush top of dough with 1 to 2 tablespoons of leftover cream or milk and pop into the oven.
bake 30-40 minutes, til top is golden brown and insides are bubbling.
serve plain, or, for a real summer treat, with whipped cream (can make with leftover cream) or vanilla ice cream.

so so so so SO good.