Recipe: All-American Deep-Dish Cherry Cobbler

ALL-AMERICAN DEEP-DISH CHERRY COBBLER

FOR THE CHERRY FILLING:
8 cups fresh pitted sour cherries
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
FOR THE COBBLER TOPPING:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
3/4 cup whole milk

Adjust the baking rack to the center of the oven and preheat oven to 375degrees. Butter well a 13-by-9-inch baking dish.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:
Combine the cherries with the lemon juice and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl; set aside.

Whisk together the nutmeg, cornstarch, brown sugar and granulated sugar; fold into the cherry mixture.

Cut the butter into tiny pieces and add to the cherries, then transfer to the prepared baking dish.

TO MAKE THE COBBLER TOPPING:
Sift the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt into a medium mixing bowl. Slice the butter into 1-inch pieces and scatter over the flour mixture; sprinkle in the sugar, then cut all the ingredients together with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbly meal; set aside.

Whisk the egg and milk together in a separate bowl, then add to the crumbly mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together and attains the consistency of wet biscuit dough.

Spoon the topping into small mounds over the cherry filling. Brush the mounds with a little milk and sprinkle with a little granulated sugar.

Bake until the topping is golden and the fruit is bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes.

Makes 12 servings
Adapted from source: A Return to Family Picnics by Russell Cronkhite