Blueberry Cobbler with Gingered Biscuits

"Sweet Gingered Biscuits! Now THAT's what I call a cobbler!" Ring a bell? Like a catchphrase from days gone by? No? Well, that's because it's not. But it could be heard coming from our house recently upon tasting this fabulous twist on a homespun dessert. Now, you might be thinking, cobbler, schmobbler. Had it. Like a million times. Right? And maybe you've had a few not-so-stellar specimens that were all gelatinous with soggy bits of dough on top, only made palatable with lots of vanilla ice cream. Snore. Weh-hel-helllll....let the cobbler enlightenment begin, my friends. Oh sure, this incarnation might start with the usual suspects--fresh blueberries tossed with sugar, cinnamon and a sparkle of lemon zest--but the revelation begins thereafter.

See, most cobbler recipes have you just layer sugared fruit into a baking dish, mix up a dough for the topping, blob the dough on top of the raw fruit and bang it into the oven just like that. Simple enough. Boy Scout camp-like cooking (just ask my husband). But that's where most cobblers become an epic FAIL. I mean, sure, fruit, sugar, dough--what's not to like? Well, how about mushy, steamed fruit and pale, uncooked, uncrispy dough with very little nom factor? Yeah, I thought so. But in this recipe, you cook the seasoned fruit all naked in the baking dish first before topping it with the dough. I know!

While the berries are baking all on their lonesome, mix up a simple buttermilk dropped biscuit dough with the genius addition of ginger in two forms--a dash of spicy ground and dazzling bits of crystallized.

Now, I should say here that I never was a huge fan of ginger in any form. Except for Geri Halliwell, my favorite Spice Girl by far--she's just such a cheeky broad!--and only occasionally as a very subtle backdrop in, say, a spice cake or apple somesuch. But my palate has changed considerably in recent years, and boy am I glad I got over that ginger aversion, because it's such a great highlighter in fresh fruit desserts of all sorts. The gingered cornmeal biscuits that top this cobbler are so fragrant and delicious that they'd make a great dish all on their own, but here the dough gets portioned off into bits and nestled into the warm, bubbling fruit.

With the berries hot underneath, the biscuits immediately begin gently cooking with steam from the bottom, keeping them tender in the center, while the dry heat of the oven from above creates a crisp, beautifully browned crust. When the filling begins to seep into the edges of the golden biscuits and bubbles up the sides of the baking dish like some crazy sexy blueberry lava, you know you're just moments away from cobbler nirvana.

Though they may be among some of the most trying minutes of your life, please give the cobbler at least 20 minutes to just sort of hang out and cool down a little. If you lose control and spoon it out too soon, you'll get a gush of thin, runny juice all over the place instead of something more syrupy and spoon-lickably great. Some time to rest will also bolster the flavors of the berries and the topping.

While summer berries are still at their peak, I implore you to give this one a whirl while the gettin's good. But if you miss the mark a little, frozen berries can absolutely be used here successfully. One thing you should absolutely not miss the mark on is serving this baby with a good vanilla ice cream--it's simply the right thing to do.

Blueberry Cobbler with Gingered Biscuits Adapted from Baking Illustrated

To make this cobbler with frozen blueberries, use 6 cups of good quality berries (preferably wild), and thaw them in a colander set over a bowl to catch the juices. Reduce the juice over medium heat until thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Stir the syrup into the filling mixture before baking, and increase the baking time of the fruit to 30 minutes. Also increase the baking time when the biscuits are added to 20 to 22 minutes.

For the filling:

1/3 granulated sugar 1 tablespoon cornstarch 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon Pinch of salt 6 cups fresh blueberries, washed, patted dry and picked over 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

For the biscuit topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons cornmeal 1/4 cup granulated sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1/3 cup buttermilk 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 3 tablespoons crystallized ginger, minced Coarse sugar for sprinkling (such as sanding sugar, turbinado or demerara)

Set an oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt. Add the blueberries, lemon zest and lemon juice and fold gently to combine. Pour the berries into a 9 or 10-inch glass pie plate (a square baking dish of similar size will also work well). Bake until the fruit is hot and bubbling, about 25 minutes.

While the fruit is baking, prepare the biscuit dough: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and ground ginger. Whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, along with the minced crystallized ginger. Stir gently until the dough is just combined with no dry pockets. Softly pat the dough into an even disk in the bottom of the bowl, and score it into 8 equal pieces.

When the fruit is done baking, pull it from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees. When the oven is up to temperature, Pull apart the 8 biscuits, and nestle them into the hot filling. Sprinkle the tops of the biscuits generously with coarse sugar. Bake until the filling is bubbling at the edges and the biscuits are golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes. Allow the cobbler to cool for at least 20 minutes on a wire rack before serving.