For an easy, rustic dessert, you really can’t beat a cobbler. With a fleet of tender biscuits floating on a sea of sweet fruit, a good cobbler can hold its own against any fancy cake or pastry.
For our cast-iron skillet cherry cobbler, we looked to jarred, pitted cherries in syrup to deliver maximum cherry flavor with the least amount of prep work. We used a portion of the syrup, thickened with cornstarch and seasoned with allspice, nutmeg and vanilla, to enrich our fruit filling.
For the topping, we wanted fluffy but sturdy biscuits that didn’t need to be baked separately from the cherries. To accomplish this, we incorporated a combination of baking powder and baking soda into the biscuit dough.
Baking powder encourages baked goods to rise and is activated by heat, so we spaced our biscuits ½-inch apart to give them room to grow in the oven. Baking soda, on the other hand, contributes tenderness and is activated by an acidic ingredient, so we added buttermilk, which also lent our biscuits great flavor.
The cast-iron skillet went right from the stovetop to the oven for maximum convenience. We prefer the crunchy texture of turbinado sugar sprinkled on the biscuits before baking, but regular granulated sugar can be substituted. For best results, serve within 15 minutes and transfer any leftovers to an airtight container.
Filling ingredients:
6 cups jarred sour cherries in light syrup, drained with 2 cups syrup reserved
½ cup (3½ oz.) granulated sugar
3 T cornstarch
½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. ground allspice
Pinch ground nutmeg
Pinch salt
Topping ingredients:
1½ cups (7½ oz.) all-purpose flour
5 T (2¼ oz.) granulated sugar
1½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup buttermilk
4 T unsalted butter, melted
2 T turbinado sugar
Adjust the oven rack to its middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk the cherry syrup, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, allspice, nutmeg and salt in a bowl until well combined. Transfer the mixture to a 12-inch cast-iron skillet and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook, whisking frequently, until slightly thickened (five to seven minutes). Off heat, stir in cherries.
Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in the buttermilk and melted butter until just combined. Using a spoon, scoop out and drop 1-inch pieces of dough onto the filling, spaced about ½-inch apart. Sprinkle the biscuits with turbinado sugar.
Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake until the biscuits are golden brown and the filling is thick and glossy (30 to 35 minutes), rotating the skillet halfway through baking. Makes six to eight servings.