My momma, Dot Sexton, referred to cobblers as “Lazy Man” pie.
She could whip up one in two seconds flat using a mix of 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of milk poured into a hot dish filled with a stick of melted butter. She would mash up whatever fruit she selected, mix in a cup of sugar, and let set until syrupy. Then drop spoons full of fruit mixture into the batter. In 40-45 minutes, the top would turn golden brown with hot fruit bubbling around the sides.
Momma would also use canned pie filling if she needed to whip up something quick or if fresh fruit wasn’t in season.
And you always served this Lazy Man Pie with vanilla ice cream on top – never whipped cream.
My father-in-law makes a fantastic peach and muscadine cobbler. He doesn’t have a recipe, but he has perfected his own concoction over the years, and it is delicious.
Boyd Ferguson’s Muscadine Cobbler
Crust
3 cups plain flour
2/3 cups shortening
Cut shortening into flour making small crumbs. Divide into two parts. Add cold water as needed to roll out the dough for two pie crusts. (You may also use prepared crust.) Press pie crust into bottom of 9x13 dish.
Filling
2-3 cups of muscadines
½ cups sugar (add more sugar if you prefer sweet versus tart)
½ cup butter (1 stick)
Pop the pulp out of the hull with your fingers. Put the pulp into a boiler with a small about of water and boil until the seeds separate, about 15-20 minutes. Then strain to separate the seeds from the pulp. Put the pulp and hulls in the boiler with sugar and cook slowly until hulls are soft, about 30-45 minutes, adding more water if needed. Pour mixture into the pie crust. Cover with second crust and press down sides. Cut slits into the top of the crust, dot with butter, and bake at 350 until crust is golden brown.
My specialty is chocolate cobbler. It is like a hug in a dish, perfect to make for a friend who is going through a tough time.
It is ooey and gooey and just plain sinful. It is also one of the easiest desserts I make with about 10 minutes of prep time.
Chocolate Cobbler
1 cup of butter (2 sticks)
1 ½ cups of self-rising flour
1 ½ cups of sugar plus 1 cup of sugar
1 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
6 tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 cup of water
Melt two sticks of butter in a casserole dish in a 350 degree oven. Mix flour and 1 ½ cups of sugar with milk and vanilla. Pour over melted butter. Mix cocoa powder and 1 cup of sugar. Sprinkle over top of batter. Pour 1 cup water over the top of casserole. DO NOT STIR. Cook for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, I plan on making a pecan pie cobbler. I tried this one evening while dining at Guy’s Catfish in Vaiden, and it was fantastic.
Now, I am a pretty good cook, but I’m not much of a baker. The one and only time I tried to make a pecan pie, it turned into soup. This cobbler may be a little easier for me to master.
Here is a recipe I found.
Pecan Pie Cobbler
1 package prepared pie crust, softened as directed on box
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups of sugar
2 1/2 cups of dark Karo syrup
6 eggs, slightly beaten
2 cups coarsely chopped pecans or 2 cups pecan halves
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13×9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with shortening or cooking spray. Remove 1 pie crust from pouch; unroll on work surface. Work into a 9x13 casserole, covering the bottom.
In a large bowl, stir corn syrup, butter, vanilla, sugar and eggs with wire whisk. Stir in chopped pecans.
Pour half of filling into crust-lined dish. Spread the second pie crust over the filling. Pour the rest of the filling over top of the crust. Place in the oven and cook 40-50 minutes until the filling is set.
