Summer Berries ~

Um, who isn’t  crazy about

Cobbler? Seriously, this  dessert is the

essence of summer. Who doesn’t

remember picking ripe,

juicy  berries as a

kid, oblivious to

stained mouths and

hands…more  berries in your

belly  than the bowl  your

mother sent you out the door with. I must say,

I am  rather picky about

 cobbler. (Mom, you spoiled us!)

I road tested this little recipe over the

weekend and deemed it worthy

enough to share with you.

It has a lovely toasted rolled oat,

orange zest  & vanilla bean

crust on the top AND bottom with…

  a bit  of butter, okay  a lot of

butter, ( What??…It’s a short

berry season!) making it a

bit like a berry bar. But don’t

worry, there is plenty of fresh

berry filling 

to go around.

 I gave the berries some extra love, with

freshly  grated cinnamon &

nutmeg, a small mound of vanilla

sugar, plus orange zest and

a splash of  Grand Marnier

Love  boozy baking :)

The blackberries and raspberries

cook down but a few blueberries

remain and then

 obediently pop open in your

mouth while the orange zest

and Grand Marnier  tease your

taste buds. 

All of this is going on between  the

 layers of golden orange & Vanilla bean crust.

And the berry aroma wafting through the house is 

intoxicating…Either that or I

put in too much

 liqueur…

sigh. Top  each portion with

a dollop of honey  and

Grand Marnier mascarpone and

you have my twist  on the

Old-fashioned Berry Cobber….

the  quintessential  summer time dessert,

Recipe ~

Berry Filling

2 Cups each of Blueberries, Blackberries & Raspberries

1 teaspoon good vanilla

zest of 1 orange

2 tbs Grand Marnier

5 tbs of vanilla sugar

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of nutmeg

Gently combine all of the

filling ingredients in a large bowl.

* * *

Topping

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups rolled oats

1.5 cups light brown sugar (packed)

1.5 cups unsalted butter

(cut into small pieces)

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

zest of 1 orange

1 vanilla bean  ~ scraped

Place  topping  ingredients in a big bowl

and cut in the butter until 

you get a nice crumbly texture.

Press half of the topping into

the bottom of your baking dish.

Spoon in the filling and top

with remaining crumble mixture.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until

the crust is golden brown and the filling

is bubbling beneath.

I hope you like it.