Blackberry Cobbler with Ice Cream

Making Blackberry Cobbler brings back memories of my childhood and time spent with my grandmother. During summer visits she would take us to the blackberry patch, but before we could start picking my grandmother would beat the ground with a long bamboo pole. She did that to scare off snakes, and since she lived in South Georgia there was always the danger of rattle snakes. Once the threat was eliminated we proceeded to pick berries then head back to her kitchen for the sweet reward of cobbler and ice cream. It was and still is the perfect bowl of summertime.

  • 1⁄2 cup butter (1 stick)
  • 4 cups fresh blackberries
  • 1 cup sugar, plus more to sprinkle on berries if needed
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Vanilla ice cream for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a large cast iron skillet or ovenproof baking dish in the oven for 5 minutes. While the butter is melting, place blackberries in a large bowl and add sugar to taste if the berries are tart. Mash berries with a potato masher to release juices being careful not to mash too much, you want at least half of the berries whole. In another large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Remove skillet from the oven and stir in melted butter to the flour mixture. Pour flour mixture into the skillet then pour blackberries over the middle. Bake about 1 hour until the batter is golden brown and cooked through. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.