My First Cobbler - Nectarine!

Not sure why but this is my first attempt at making a cobbler (or as we call it in Massachusetts, a "cawbla"). One walk through the farmers market the other day and there was no escaping making one. There were piles and piles of fresh, ripe, drool-over-the-sink-juicy nectarines and peaches everywhere. And knowing they won't be around for much longer, I knew I should seize the day and take plenty home for eating as is and for making my first cobbler.

I poked around the web for some recipes but none really appealed to me. Who to turn to? Of course. My mom. I've had her cobblers many times and they're always top notch. But she's an expert. Would mine come out okay? I tend to be fearful of any dessert involving crust or pastry. Somehow I thought this would work out okay and swept my crust fears off the counter and began the task of peeling nectarines which, incidentally, is the most time consuming part of making a cobbler. The rest is so easy, I'm actually kind of nervous that I might be making it a lot. Well, I guess that's one reason (the only one) that it's probably a good thing the nectarine season is coming to an end. But I suppose apples are right on its heels...

On the evening I made the cobbler, I had made a lentil soup that morning which called for ginger. I was going to throw the unused portion of ginger away when I thought, hmm, I bet that would be delicious in the cobbler. Then and there, a small variation to my mom's recipe was born. While the original recipe is a perfect classic that you could argue should not be messed with, the ginger was lovely as well and gave the dessert a little kick. I happened to find ginger ice cream at Christina's in Inman Square which was the perfect accompaniment to the cobbler. Believe it or not, I'm not a huge dessert person (I'm more of a cheese gal) but I LOVED this dessert. Get thee to a farmers market. It's cobbler time!

Nectarine Cobbler Recipe

Ingredients - Nectartine Mixture:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 4 cups peeled and sliced nectarines or peaches (I prefer nectarines. Not a fan of the fuzz.)
- 1 tbsp finely grated ginger (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

How to - Nectarine Mixture:
1. Blend 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon and the cornstarch in medium saucepan.
2. Stir in lemon juice, peaches and ginger.
3. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Pour into ungreased 2 quart casserole.

Ingredients - Topping:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 3 tbsp. shortening
- 1/2 cup milk

How to - Topping:
1. Measure flour, 1 tbsp. sugar, the baking powder and salt into bowl.
2. Add shortening and milk.
3. Mix until dough forms a ball.
4. Drop dough by 6 spoonfuls into hot fruit.
5. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until biscuit topping is golden brown.
6. Ideally, serve warm (with vanilla or ginger ice cream) but cold is fabulous too. In fact, I had some the second day after I made it and the ginger seemed to further infuse the nectarine mixture. Really amazing flavor.