blackberry cobbler

i would feel completely worthless if i let the (cold, dismal, rainy) dregs of another summer slip away without sharing a cobbler recipe. what's more, this is one that i've deferred to no fewer than three times in the past few months: i've baked it with sour cherries, with peaches and blueberries, and most recently, with blackberries. all were delicious.
like last summer, i went blackberry picking, this time on elk rock island (which, in late summer, is actually a peninsula off the east bank of the willamette). it's pretty late in the season for wild blackberries and we almost gave up after scrounging a few measly handfuls, until we found a patch that had seemingly been overlooked by other pickers--although it might have been a deliberate oversight, because it was brambly as all hell. we emerged bruised, bloodied and with thorn-perforated clothing, but more importantly with several tupperware jars of berries. i've been eating them for breakfast with greek yogurt and honey, as well as snacking on them plain, but the bulk of them went into cobbler.

i like this particular biscuit recipe because it's simple to assemble and neither outlandishly buttery nor cloyingly sugary, but still yields a crunchy crust and a soft interior. the fruit is flexible too, of course--any berry or stone fruit is a pretty safe bet, but rhubarb or even apples could be great too, with spices and sugar adjusted accordingly. we used just a touch of cinnamon and ginger in here which was almost indetectable in the final product: it is, after all, summer fare. what's more, it's just as good for dessert with ice cream as it is for breakfast with yogurt.

also, if you're a biscuit person (i am) you might scale up the topping by one and a half, or even double it if you're using a bigger baking dish. it could use some more biscuit action.
blackberries, previously: blackberry ricotta cornbread, blackberry pie, whole wheat blackberry muffins, whole wheat pancakes with blackberry compote.

blackberry cobbler
adapted from the better homes and gardens new cookbook recipe for fresh peach cobbler
serves 8 for dessert

• 4 1/2 cups blackberries (or other fruit of your choice, see above)
• scant 1/2 cup brown sugar (less if you're using a sweeter fruit like peaches, more if your blackberries are very sour--taste and adjust)
• a generous pinch of cinnamon and/or ginger
• 1 tbsp flour
• pinch of salt

for topping:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (i've also made it with whole wheat pastry flour with good results)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 3 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 beaten egg
• 3 tablespoons milk

preheat oven to 375°F.

in an 8"x8" square baking dish, mix together blackberries, sugar, flour, spices of your choice, and salt; set aside.

in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. add butter and cut in with pastry blender or rub butter into flour with fingertips until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. in a separate bowl, beat the egg and milk together. add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. stir just until combined – don’t overmix!

drop topping mixture in large spoonfuls on top of the fruit in the baking dish.

bake for 30 minutes. topping is done when golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the biscuit topping comes out clean. let cool for ten minutes and serve warm with ice cream.