Blackberry Cobbler

I love making cobbler, especially in the wintertime. It's simple to make and tastes wonderful. I had never tried cobbler with blackberries, but this dish was no exception in taste. It was simple to make and only involved about 15 minutes of preparation time.

Source: Kelly's Kreative Kitchen, adapted from Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

6 cups blackberries
1/2 cup PLUS 4 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice (from 1 fresh lemon)
1/2 whole zest of lemon (from fresh lemon)
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
4 tbsp butter
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine blackberries, 1/2 cup sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest in large bowl. Spread mixture into a 9x9 (or similar size) pyrex dish and flatten with a spoon.

In a separate bowl pour in flour, salt, baking powder, and 1 tbsp sugar. Add shortening and butter and mix well with a pastry blender until mixture is coarse. Measure 1/2 cup milk in large measuring cup, add 1 egg and mix well. Pour into flour mixture, stirring as you go. The final product should not be too dry or too sticky. If too dry, add a little more milk.

Take small clumps of dough and place on top of blackberries until covered. Lightly flatten dough with fingertips and sprinkle with remaining 3 tbsp of sugar. Bake until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes. Berry juice will be slightly thin but allowing it to sit will give it time to soak up into the cobbler topping.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.