This recipe makes the perfect amount of dough for one cobbler recipe and may be varied with other ingredients, such as cornmeal or sour cream. You can cover fruit with a whole piece of dough, cut the dough into shapes, or spoon nut-sized pieces of it off and roll into small balls. While heavy cream makes the richest cobbler biscuit dough, milk is a fine substitute.
Have ready an unbuttered enameled cast-iron, earthenware, or glass baking pan of about 2-quart capacity and 2 inches deep, such as an 8 x 8-inch or 11 x 7-inch pan; a 12-inch oval gratin; or a 9 x 2-inch or 10 x 2-inch glass pie pan.
Whisk together in a bowl:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Add:
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Toss with the dry ingredients. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut the butter into the dry ingredients (as for Basic Rolled Biscuits) until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add:
2/3 cup heavy cream or 1/2 cup milk
Mix with a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or fork only until the dough comes together and can be rolled or patted. Gently knead the dough in the bowl 5 to 10 times if needed, turning and pressing any loose pieces into the dough. Dust the top and bottom of the dough with a little flour, then roll or pat the dough with your hands to the shape of the top of the baking dish, between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick. Cut the dough into circles, squares, rectangles, or pie wedges, into 1-inch strips for a lattice, or trim the edges and leave it whole. You may also gently roll small pieces of the dough into balls, flatten each one slightly, and place on the fruit. If making a lattice, arrange the strips in opposite directions, weaving them if you like. If leaving the dough whole, cut 3 small holes for steam vents. Place the biscuit dough on the fruit. Lightly brush the top with:
1 to 2 tablespoons melted butter, cream, milk, or lightly beaten egg
Sprinkle with:
About 1 tablespoon sugar
Bake the cobbler as directed in each recipe, typically 45 to 50 minutes.
