Strawberry Cobbler Recipe

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There are few tasty summer treats as delicious as strawberry cobbler made with farm-stand strawberries. Luscious fresh strawberries take on a whole new level of deliciousness when they’re baked up in a cobbler! Sweet, tender, loaded with deep strawberry flavor then topped with a sugary crusted biscuit topping. Strawberry desserts don’t get better than this my friends!

I love to make this as soon as the fresh strawberries are at their best and bursting with flavor. You know when the local roadside stands are crowded with cars and loads of baskets of fresh strawberries? It’s one of those foods that usher in the warm weather in my family!

That said, I promise it’s really great all year round, as long as you can find beautiful, ruby-red strawberries for sale at your local market!

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS RECIPE

• It’s easy and quick to put together
• Always a family favorite
• Wonderful cake-like topping

HOW TO THICKEN THIS STRAWBERRY COBBLER

Let’s face it, there are a lot of variables when it comes to thickening a cobbler or fruit pie. Because of this, you need to know your results may vary a bit. It can be tricky to achieve a thick, non-runny cobbler or pie filling that isn’t too thick!

One of the easiest things you can do, to help keep your filling nice and thick, is to not add any unnecessary liquid to the cobbler. Especially any liquid like water that doesn’t even add any extra flavor to the cobbler.

The funny thing about using thickening agents in fruit cobbler or pies is that most experienced bakers have very strong opinions about them and which ones should be used. In my experience, when I use enough flour or cornstarch to thicken this cobbler to my liking, both can leave a distinct, gluey, very unpleasant flavor and a gummy texture. Interestingly, I haven’t ever had that experience with other types of fruit fillings and often use both of them with great results. Maybe theres something about the chemical make up of strawberries I’m unaware of.

To thicken this cobbler, I add 3 tablespoons to 1/4 of a cup of instant tapioca and have been really pleased with the results. If you’re using early spring strawberries, they probably won’t be extra juicy, so I’d use 3 Tablespoons to the cobbler filling to thicken it. If you’re using late summer strawberries, which naturally contain a lot more juice, I’d use a 1/4-quarter cup of the instant tapioca to the filling.

STRAWBERRY COBBLER INGREDIENTS

• Strawberries – Personally, I prefer making this cobbler with fresh farm-picked strawberries but frozen will work too. You’ll still want to ensure they’re as dry as you can get them before macerating.
  • Dry Them! To dry them correctly, I simply spread out layers of paper towels or clean dish towels and let the strawberries sit for 10 minutes or so. I gently turn them over a couple of times during the drying time, so that any excess water is absorbed and removed.
  • Slice them or quarter them depending on the size of the berries and your preference. I personally like them cut simply in half or quarter, rather than thinly sliced,  so the cooked fruit is still a little chunky even after it’s cooked.
  • After you cut the strawberries you allow them to macerate in the sugar. During this process, the strawberries will release a lot of their juice. This is a good thing. All of that juice is an integral component of the flavor and texture of the cobbler. Obviously, the juice isn’t like the extra water from washing the strawberries. By all means, add all of it!
  • Frozen Strawberries – The most important thing about using frozen berries is to make sure that they don’t have any extra water/moisture clinging to them. It’s one of those things that often occur in frozen fruits. If you’re in doubt, you can add more instant tapioca.
• Sugar: Simple white granular sugar is what we use. Ultimately the amount of sugar you’ll use in this recipe will vary depending on the sweetness of the strawberries. Very often late-season strawberries are naturally higher in sugar than those that have been picked in the earlier part of the season.
  • If your strawberries are super sweet, or you just like your fruit cobbler less sweet, feel free to cut back on the sugar. For my taste, 1/3 cup is the amount I generally use.
• Lemon Juice: Fresh is best for taste. The stuff that comes in the yellow plastic lemon shaped bottle just isn’t the same.
• Boiling Water: Why boiling? Well, according to Epicurious, the boiling water will create a topping that has a crackly top layer with tender, fluffy cake inside. Food science is a wonderful thing!
• Optional Toppings: This amazing recipe is beyond delish all on its own. Warm or room temperature it’s totally strawberri-a-lious! It’s really scrumptious with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or a big ole scoop of vanilla or French vanilla ice cream.

TIPS + NOTES

• Arranging Topping: One of the best tips I can give you when adding the biscuit topping,  is to dollop heaping spoonfuls of the topping onto your dish. If you spread it out and cover the entire thing, then cobbler will steam instead of bake and you’ll have a lotta’ runny liquid in there. Leave some gaps. Trust me on this one.
• Mixing: You’ll also want to be sure not to overmix the topping batter. Once you pour the boiling water in, stir it just until it comes together.

STORING + FREEZING + MAKE-AHEAD

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? The cobbler will last in the fridge for 3-4 days or up to a week if you don’t eat it all before then. Trust me, it’s hard with this one.
• Can You Freeze This? Yes, you sure can! Admittedly, the strawberries are a little softer and the cobbler isn’t as thick when it thaws because the strawberries release moisture as they thaw. It’s best to slow thaw in the fridge.
• Make Ahead Tips: Be sure you have enough time for the strawberries to dry after washing them. They’ll also need time to macerate in the sugar blend. Mmm! Once that’s done, the recipe only has a 15-minute prep time so there’s not much to do ahead.
• Food Safety: If you’d like more food safety info check out this article. I’ve yet to find an article that specifically lists cobblers and crisps, I use the “fruit pies” under baked goods as my reference

SERVING RECOMMENDATIONS

This cobbler is wonderful with darn near everything you’ll likely serve in the warmer months. We love it with our beef shish kabob, grilled flank steak, beer brats, pollo asado recipe, grilled cilantro lime chicken, or Greek chicken.

It’s great ending to a hearty main course salad. We love it with our Dorito taco salad, 1905 salad, Thai style beef salad, chicken pasta salad, chicken Caesar pasta salad, chicken macaroni salad, shrimp pasta salad,  Italian pasta salad, taco pasta salad , or just about anything!

But if you are a strawberry fanatic, I hope you’ll circle back and try strawberry pie, strawberry pretzel salad, and drink strawberry frose!

HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY COBBLER WITH FRESH STRAWBERRIES RECIPE

1. Rinse the strawberries, let whole berries dry, then slice in half or quarters.
2. In a large mixing bowl, gently fold together cut strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and tapioca. Pour the fruit mixture into the prepared baking dish.
3. Mix together all the topping ingredients, except the butter and boiling water. Add the butter and cut in with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture looks like a coarse meal. Pour the boiling water into the bowl and stir just until the mixture comes together.
4. Drop the topping dough by the large spoonful evenly over the fruit mixture. Evenly sprinkle the top of the dough with 1  1/2 tablespoons of sugar.
5. Place the baking pan on a cookie sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until the topping is cooked through, golden brown, and strawberries are tender.

***See complete instructions below.

MORE SPRING DESSERT RECIPES

• Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Atlantic Beach Pie 
• Strawberry Scones
• Strawberry Tart
• Strawberry Jello Cake
• Cherry Cobbler with Cake Mix
• Strawberry Heaven On Earth Cake
• Frescas Con Crema

COBBLER RECIPES YOU’LL ADORE

• Pecan Pie Cobbler
• Pear Cobbler
• Chocolate cobbler
• Cherry Cobbler With Cake Mix 
• Bisquick Blueberry Cobbler
• Bisquick Apple Cobbler
• Blackberry Dumplings

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Strawberry Cobbler

This totally superb strawberry cobbler is crowned with a sugar studded cakey topping for an insanely delicious dessert.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Servings: 4 -6 servings

Author: Kathleen

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 cups fresh strawberries quartered
• ▢ 1/3 cup sugar
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ▢ 1/4 cup instant tapioca

Topping:

• ▢ 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/4 cup sugar
• ▢ 1/4 cup brown sugar firmly packed
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small pieces
• ▢ 1/4 cup boiling water

Sugar Topping:

• ▢ 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray an 8 X 8-inch baking pan with nonstick baking spray.
• Rinse the strawberries (4 cups), let whole berries dry, then slice in half or quarters.
  
• In a large mixing bowl, gently fold together cut strawberries, sugar (1/3 cup), lemon juice (1/2 teaspoon), and tapioca (1/4 cup). Pour the fruit mixture into the prepared baking dish.
  
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix together all the topping ingredients, except the butter and boiling water. Add the butter (6 tablespoons) and cut in with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture looks like a coarse meal. Pour the boiling water (1/4 cup) into the bowl and stir just until the mixture comes together.
  
• Drop the topping dough by the large spoonful evenly over the fruit mixture. Evenly sprinkle the top of the dough with 1 ½ tablespoons of sugar.
  
• Place the baking pan on a cookie sheet and bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until the topping is cooked through and golden and strawberries are tender.

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  Strawberry Dump Cake (Easy Recipe with Fresh or Frozen Strawberries)

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Notes

1. Strawberries – Personally, I prefer making this cobbler with fresh farm-picked strawberries but frozen will work too. You’ll still want to ensure they’re as dry as you can get them before macerating.
   • I simply spread out layers of paper towels or clean dish towels and let the strawberries sit for 10 minutes or so. I gently turn them over a couple of times during the drying time, so that any excess water is absorbed and removed.
2. Slice them or quarter them depending on the size of the berries and your preference. I personally like them cut simply in half or quarter, rather than thinly sliced,  so the cooked fruit is still a little chunky even after it’s cooked.
   • After you cut the strawberries you allow them to macerate in the sugar. During this process, the strawberries will release a lot of their juice. This is a good thing. All of that juice is an integral component of the flavor and texture of the cobbler. Obviously, the juice isn’t like the extra water from washing the strawberries. By all means, add all of it!
3. Frozen Strawberries – The most important thing about using frozen berries is to make sure that they don’t have any extra water/moisture clinging to them. It’s one of those things that often occur in frozen fruits. If you’re in doubt, you can add more instant tapioca.
4. Thickener:  Let’s face it, there are a lot of variables when it comes to thickening a cobbler or fruit pie. Because of this, you need to know your results may vary a bit. It’s tricky to achieve a thick, non-runny cobbler or pie filling.
   • One of the easiest things you can do, to help keep your filling nice and thick, is to not add any unnecessary liquid to the cobbler. Especially any liquid like water that doesn’t even add any extra flavor to the cobbler.
   • The funny thing about using thickening agents in fruit cobbler or pies is that most experienced bakers have very strong opinions about them and which ones should be used. In my experience, when I use enough flour or cornstarch to thicken the cobbler to my liking, both leave a distinct, gluey, very unpleasant flavor and a gummy texture. Interestingly, I haven’t ever had that experience with other fruits and often use both of them with great results.
5. To thicken this cobbler, I add 3 tablespoons to 1/4 of a cup of instant tapioca and have been really pleased with the results. If you’re using early spring strawberries, they probably won’t be extra juicy, so I’d use 3 Tablespoons to the cobbler filling to thicken it. If you’re using late summer strawberries, which naturally contain a lot more juice, I’d use a 1/4-quarter cup of the instant tapioca to the filling.
6. Sugar: Okay so ultimately the amount of sugar you’ll use in this recipe will vary on the sweetness of the strawberries. Very often late-season strawberries are naturally higher in sugar than those that have been picked in the earlier part of the season.
   • If your strawberries are super sweet, or you just like your fruit cobbler, less sweet, feel free to cut back on the sugar. For my taste, 1/3 cup is the amount I generally use.
7. Accouterments: This amazing recipe is beyond delish all on its own. Warm or room temperature it’s totally strawberri-a-lious! It’s really scrumptious with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or a big ole scoop of vanilla or French vanilla ice cream.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of the recipe | Calories: 529kcal | Carbohydrates: 91g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 301mg | Potassium: 373mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 54g | Vitamin A: 542IU | Vitamin C: 85mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 2mg

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