Fresh strawberries, the delicious fruit we’ve longed for all winter, are available locally again. How well I remember the small strawberry patch we grew out by the garden when I was a kid, and while the berries weren’t as big as the ones you find at produce stores or supermarkets today, the taste was so much sweeter.
Back then, many farmers in the area allowed you to pick your own strawberries, and my mom always came home with a couple of “trays” filled with them. A tray held eight quart boxes of strawberries, so Mom had plenty to use for strawberry shortcake and to make jam. She also froze some for later use.
If you’re in the mood for a strawberry dessert but are tired of strawberry shortcake, I suggest you try this recipe for strawberry cobbler like my mom used to make. It’s easy and makes a bright, pretty dessert to go with any summer dinner.
MOM’S STRAWBERRY COBBLER
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup water
3 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced in half, plus reserve 2-3 whole strawberries, sliced
2 tablespoons butter, diced
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Whipped topping or ice cream
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and butter a 2-quart baking dish.
Combine sugar, cornstarch and water. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly till thickened and hot. Stir in strawberries and remove from heat. Pour mixture in baking dish and dot with 2 tablespoons butter.
Sift flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in 3 tablespoons butter with pastry blender. Mix beaten egg and vanilla with cream and add mixture to flour-butter mixture. Stir until smooth and spoon on top of berries.
Bake for 25 minutes or until biscuits on top are golden brown and filling is bubbly.
Spoon berries and cobbler into serving bowls. Add a few tablespoons of fresh, sliced strawberries over cobbler and a couple of scoops of ice cream or dollops of whipped cream on top of it all.
Brotherton offers website readers one stellar recipe a week in the “My Leader Yummy” feature.
Looking for a recipe you can’t find? Email me at kbrotherton42@gmail.com and I’ll see if I have it.
