Cherry Cobbler

First a crisp, and now a cobbler. Hooray for summer fruit! Last year I bought a cherry pitter and have only used it a couple of times. When we were driving back from Fillmore last weekend (husband got first in his category in a bike race!) I stopped at a roadside stand and bought some fresh cherries. We've eaten so many cherries in the past few weeks and this time I wanted to bust out that cherry pitter and bake something.

I have no photo of this dessert since I served it for friends and it disappeared so quickly! Cobblers have more of a cakey topping and this particular recipe is more biscuit-like than cake-like. The additions of the rosemary and lemon zest made the topping, in my opinion, but next time I'd probably add 1 cup more cup of cherries and double the amount of topping.

I had all the ingredients on hand - don't be put off by the buttermilk. Stephanie told me to add 1 teaspoon of plain white vinegar to 1/2 cup of milk and stir it . . . it turned out perfectly!

Fresh Cherry Cobbler (serves 4)
Adapted from Gourmet, June 2004

For filling
2 cups fresh, pitted cherries
2 T sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

For topping
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar (divided)
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits
1/3 cup well-shaken low-fat buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400°F. To make the filling, cook all filling ingredients with a pinch of salt in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar begins to dissolve, about 3 minutes. Spoon filling into a 9-inch ceramic or glass pie plate (1 inch deep).

To make the topping: Whisk together flour, 2 teaspoons sugar, baking soda, baking powder, rosemary, lemon zest and salt in a medium bowl. Blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in buttermilk with a fork until just combined (do not overmix). Drop dough in 4 mounds over filling, leaving space between mounds.

Sprinkle topping with remaining teaspoon sugar. Bake until topping is golden brown and fruit is bubbling, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and serve warm.