BEST BLACKBERRY COBBLER EVER!

Love, love, loved taking the grandgirls blackberry picking. I had no idea they would enjoy the hunt for ripe, juicy bits of deliciousness. I thought the Texas heat, spider webs, and prickly bushes would deter them. I was wrong! I had to make them stop once we reached six pounds. Delighted with our haul we mopped our brows and headed home to continue our adventure in the air conditioned kitchen. Ahhhh, air conditioning--God's special gift. I've lived without it, but hope to never again.
My mom makes a delicious blackberry cobbler. She cooks the blackberries, sends them through a sieve, removes all the seeds, and uses only the juice. My daughter loves it, but I like a little more substance. Here is my recipe.
I make up my pie crust first and cover it with a damp paper towel while I put my berries together. You can use refrigerated pie crust, but this one is easy and tastes so much better.

I use my stand mixer with a wire whisk to combine 
flour, sugar and salt.

Cut in shortening until it is pea size.

Sprinkle cold water a tablespoon at a time until dough holds together.
(If there is too much water, it will be sticky and tough; if there's too little water,
 the edges will crack, the pastry will tear easily and it will be hard to roll out)
Roll into two balls. Cover with damp paper towel while you
combine your berries.

Sprinkle sugar, flour, and lemon juice over blackberries in large bowl.

Gently stir. Let stand for 10 minutes

Spoon half of blackberry mixture into a lightly greased
9 x 13-inch baking dish. 

Flatten one pastry ball into 1/2 inch thickness on floured surface.
If the shortening marbles the crust, you've done it just right.

Fold pastry in half or roll it around your rolling pin and
unroll it on top of  the berries. Dot with half the butter.

 Cobble means putting together different parts in a quick way. It doesn't have to be pretty.  If your pastry breaks just cobble it together. I've seen beautiful lattice-work cobblers. You can do that, but I want to get this cobbler under the ice cream and in my belly as soon as possible!

Repeat the layers.

Dot the top crust with remaining butter and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes or until pastry is golden
and mixture is bubbly. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla is my personal favorite!

FRESH BLACKBERRY COBBLER

Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings

Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons sugar 

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup shortening

5 to 7 Tablespoons cold water 

Filling:

2 cups sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

8 cups fresh blackberries

1/4 cup butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and divided

1 tablespoon sugar

Variations-- Substitute gluten-free baking flour for a yummy gluten-free dessert. For my granddaughter who has a dairy allergy, I used a dairy-free spread for the butter. 

If you have enough berries for two cobblers bake and eat one. Make up the other to the point of baking. Freeze it until you need it. Thaw and Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

 This didn't last long enough to get a pretty picture, but trust me it's worth the effort. Next week--A variation on Peach Cobbler!