I grew up on a farm, and my family and the farmer across the road used to exchange plants and trees when some became too plentiful. He was of German descent and could grow anything, from grapes and pears to plums and peaches. Even to this day, I envy his green thumb. My mom had a pretty good green thumb, too, raising strawberries, rhubarb, raspberries, apples and cherries.
Some things grew better on his side of the road and others grew better on ours. Mom’s cherry trees provided us with plenty of cherry pies year round, and when there was a bumper crop and the birds didn’t steal more than their fair share, she even made cherry jam. It was to die for! There was a lot of work involved in making that jam, and I often had a hand in that process.
I wasn’t big enough to pick the cherries off the trees, but not too little to remove the cherry pits. After a couple of hours pitting them, with sticky cherry juice running down my elbows, I couldn’t wait until I was finished. Later, Mom acquired a cherry pitter, a heavy apparatus that looked like the old-fashioned grinders you attached to a table or counter-top. After you put cherries in the top, you cranked a handle and the machine was supposed to separate the pits from the cherries. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn’t. So, you still had to go through each cherry to make sure the pits were gone or else you’d end up biting into a piece of pie and leaving part of a tooth behind!
I think of those days every time I make a cherry pie or cobbler. This cobbler recipe can be baked in an oven or, if you’re planning a camping trip, you can put the ingredients together at home, then take it all with you and make a luscious dessert at your favorite campsite. Either way, if you like cherries, you’ll love this dessert!
TEXAS SKILLET CHERRY COBBLER
2 cans (1 pound, 5 ounces each) cherry pie filling
1/2 cup dried cherries (or raisins)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup milk
Combine cherry pie filling and dried cherries (or raisins) in a deep 10-inch iron skillet or baking pan; heat to boiling.
Mix flour, baking powder, brown sugar and cinnamon together in a mixing bowl; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in pecans.
Combine egg and milk and then add them to the flour mixture and mix to moisten dry ingredients. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto hot cherry filling.
Bake in covered Dutch oven or deep fry pan over coals or in a 400 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes. Serves 6 to 8.
Note: To make during a camping trip, make the dry mixture at home and put in a Ziploc bag. Then mix egg and milk together and freeze in a small plastic container. When you get to your destination, thaw the milk and egg mixture and you’re ready to add to the cherries to make the cobbler. Also, if you like less fruit, you can just use one can of pie filling with the same “cobbler” ingredients.
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