Back--With Apple Cobbler
As you may know, we've been away for several weeks. First, it was our vacation to Santa Fe and Telluride
to sleep late, enjoy some great meals, and witness the glorious change in the aspens in the high-elevation passes.
Then we were a week in California, doing publicity events and shooting Thanksgiving videos for chow.com. (More on those soon.)
And then we were in New York for a week on a photo shoot for a celebrity book we ghost-wrote. (Can't say a word more on that one--sorry.)
Whew. Poor Dreydl doesn't even know where he lives. But we're back--and it's apple season for sure in New England. A ripe apple right out of the orchard will almost unfit you for apples the rest of the year. A treat indeed.
So we need to do something with these babies. How about an old-fashioned cobbler with a brown sugar/pecan biscuit topping? Sounds good? Then let's do it.
First off, you need about 2 1/2 pounds (a little less than 1 1/4 kilos) of baking apples. Baking goddess Nancy Baggett tested a bunch for her pie bake-off and came to the conclusion that Empires, Honey Crisps, Jonathans, and Romes fare best. (Read all about it here.) I'd add most varieties of Pippins to her list. But here, I'm using a heritage varietal: Egremont Russets, an old-fashioned apple with a mottled skin. As you'll see, they hold their shape remarkably well. In fact, they almost don't break down at all!
Peel, core, and chop the apples. Put them in a big bowl. Now add 1/3 cup (65 grams) granulated sugar, 1/3 cup (60 grams) packed dark brown sugar, 2 tablespoons (15 grams) all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon (5 grams) quick-cooking tapioca, 1 1/2 teaspoons (7 ml) lemon juice, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir that well until the apple bits are coated.
If you've never worked with quick-cooking tapioca in a fruit dessert, now's the time. It's my all-time favorite thickener. You can take the boy out of the South but you can't take away his tapioca! It adds an abundant silkiness, not as gelatinous as corn starch, but even richer. I like to pair it with flour for the overall effect. Look for quick-cooking tapioca in the baking aisle.
Lightly grease a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33-cm) baking pan with a little butter on a piece of paper towel. Make sure you get into the corners. Pour the apple filling into the baking pan--and set aside for 15 minutes to let the tapioca get a start on dissolving. Meanwhile, set the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 375F (190C).
As the filling sits, make the biscuit topping. First, whisk all this in a large, clean, dry bowl: 1 1/4 cups (150 grams) all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup (75 grams) chopped pecan or walnut pieces, 1/4 cup (45 grams) packed dark brown sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
Now use a fork to stir in 1/2 cup (120 ml) half-and-half, whole milk, or low-fat milk as well as 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick or 60 grams) melted, unsalted butter that's been cooled a bit. Stir this just until a wet dough forms and all the flour has been dissolved.
Use a flatware spoon to blob bits of the dough over the filling, making a patchwork of biscuits that cover most but not all of the apple filling underneath.
Bake until the fruit starts to bubble and the biscuit topping is lightly browned, about 45 minutes. (You'll note how those Egremonts really hold their shape!) Serve with vanilla ice cream, vanilla frozen yogurt, sweetened whipped cream, or even just a little pour of pure cream in each bowl. Wow. And who said the passing of summer was a bad thing?
Mark Scarbrough | Posted on Monday, October 17, 2011 at 10:36AM | in Desserts, Fabulously Empty Calories apple cobbler, apples, dessert, fruit desserts
Reader Comments (4)
I can almost smell it!
This looks deliciously simple! Perfect comfort fall dessert!
How I miss the varieties of apples in the US! Here in Manila, I can find mostly Red Delicious and Granny Smith, but not much else (of course, the trade-off is the cornucopia of tropical fruits that were scarce in our old Midwest stomping grounds). I'll just sit back and imagine a generous serving of just-out-of-the-oven cobbler topped with a generous scoop of ice cream....
Nelly and Laura: I'd dish you up a piece if you were here. With a cup of tea, perhaps?
Tracey: Yes, it's hard without the good variety. Still, you could make this with Granny Smiths--although I know apples can be frightfully expensive where you are. And those tropical fruits. Yum! I'm picturing a bowl full of rambutans. I'd go nuts.
M.