Dewberry Cobbler

Dewberries.  I have braved the chigger bites, again, just to have this once a year treat.  I managed to get about 12 cups of these delicious berries.  I asked, on my facebook page, what I should make with the batch that is pictured above.  100% of the response was Cobbler.  This included a lengthy discussion as to the type of crust.  Michael Osbourne,Chef Oz,  asked me to share my crust recipe since it was a little different.
My crust is somewhere between the biscuit crust and the standard pie crust. I think this comes from my
mom, who made a sweet biscuit dough and my mother-in-law, who made an oil pie crust, for their cobblers.  Both of them are gone, now, but their influence continues in my cooking today.
My mom would make a kind of not quite fluffy dough that included baking powder and buttermilk.  The dough helped to absorb some of the juice and took on the fruit's flavor.  It was delicious.
The only crust my mother-in-law would make was an oil pie crust.  I never understood why until I finally made one about 2 years ago.  It is so much easier to make, and handle, than any other crust, hands down.  Her cobbler was delicious, too.  It was basically a one crust pie with the crust placed on the top instead of the bottom. 

So now I make this crust for my kids, family, and friends.  It is a combination of both.  It is a classic butter crust with additional sugar, a small amount of baking powder, and a little white vinegar to help the crust rise a bit.  It is thinner than the biscuit dough pastry but thicker than the pie crust.  It is not as fluffy as the biscuit dough but more than the pie crust.  It is a happy combination and I think, the most delicious of the three.
The filling recipe can be used for any type of berry, just substitute what you have for dewberries.  I use it for most of my fruit pies, too.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Berry Filling
5 cups of Dewberries
1 cup of Sugar
1/3 cup of Flour
2 cup of Water

Toss dewberries with sugar and then measure out 1 cup.  Place 1 cup of dewberries, coated with sugar, flour and water into a saucepan.  Cook until the liquid has thickened and has lost the opaque appearance.  Remove from heat and add the rest of the dewberries with sugar.  Set aside to cool and make the dough.

Cobbler Dough
2 1/4 cup of flour
14 Tablespoons of Butter, cut into very small cubes
1/4 cup of Sugar
1/2 teaspoon of Salt
1/4 teaspoon of Baking Powder
3/4 cup of Cold Water
1 teaspoon of White Vinegar
Extra Sugar for sprinkling

Using the paper wrapper from the butter, butter an 8" X 8" X 4" deep baking dish and set aside.
Sift dry ingredients together and then cut in the butter cubes.  Make a well.
Mix the cold water with the vinegar and pour into the well.  With a fork, mix to combine.  The dough with be sticky.  That is okay because you are not trying to keep it flaky.  Once the the dough is formed. Divide it into 3 balls.  Tearing off pieces, pat out the first ball so that the dough cover the entire bottom of the baking dish, cover with 1/2 of the berry mixture.  If your baking dish is like mine, the sides slope outward to the top, so I am not able to get the next two layers of dough to cover completely.  It makes the cobble look pretty and the berries show through.  Repeat with the second layer of dough and the rest of the berries.  Cover with the final amount of dough.  Sprinkle the top with extra sugar.
Place in the oven preheated to 425 degrees and then immediately reduce to the oven temperature to 400 degrees.  Bake for 35 minutes and the top is browned and sparkly.  Let this cool before eating! Serve with cream and

Enjoy!

Deloris