Cherry Cobbler

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Cherry Cobbler is a simple, summery baked cherry dessert topped with a golden brown, sweet biscuit-like topping. Top with vanilla ice cream!

May 17th is National Cherry Cobbler Day! Celebrate this day by making your own homemade cherry cobbler to enjoy. No need to wait until fresh cherries are in season. Use frozen sweet cherries for this cobbler! Share your creation on social media today using the hashtags #NationalCherryCobblerDay, #CherryCobblerDay and #RecipesForHolidays.

Be sure to check out my May Food Holidays page so you never miss a food holiday in the month of May!

“Cherry cobbler is shortcake with a soul.”

-Edna Ferber

The History of Cherry Cobbler:

Humans have been eating cherries since the stone ages, but cherries didn’t arrive in the United States until the early 19th century.

It is said that cherry cobbler was probably invented by accident. British immigrants were unable to make their favorite steamed puddings due to lack of equipment and ingredients. So they improvised and made stewed fruit topped with biscuits or dumplings instead. The new cherry “cobbler” creation was considered a variation of pie, but it was so much easier to make because a crust didn’t have to be rolled.

The “cobbler” name likely came about because the baked dessert visually looked like cobblestone (as in cobblestone streets). There was a type of wooden bowl used for cooking that was called a “cobeler,” which may have contributed to the name as well.

Cherry cobbler was originally eaten as a main course. Eventually it became a dessert.

Nowadays cobblers can be made with all types of fruits (peach cobbler, blueberry cobbler, etc.), and there are even savory cobblers such as tomato cobbler too.

Ingredients needed:

• frozen sweet cherries
• white sugar
• all purpose flour
• baking powder and salt
• salted butter
• eggs
• vanilla extract
• lemon zest

How to make Cherry Cobbler:

The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl, toss the cherries with 1/4 cup of the sugar. There is no need to thaw the cherries. Add the cherries to the prepared pan.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, remaining sugar, baking powder and salt. Pulse to combine. Then add in the butter, and process just until the dough is combined. This should just take a few seconds, and you should still see some bits of butter in the dough. Transfer this mixture to a bowl.

Use a fork to beat in the eggs, vanilla and lemon zest.

Spoon the cobbler dough onto the cherries in the pan. Leave some gaps between the spoonfuls.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes. The cobbler will begin to brown, and the cherries will become tender. The juices will be bubbling.

Can you use fresh cherries to make cherry cobbler?

Absolutely! As long as you are prepared to pit 6 cups of fresh cherries!

Serve your cherry cobbler warm or cold. I like it best served warm with a little vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!

Fun Facts About Cherries:

• There are more than 500 varieties of sweet cherries.
• Washington grows 62% of the sweet cherries in America. Michigan grows 75% of the tart cherries.
• Turkey produces more cherries than any other place in the world at 535 tons per year.
• Americans consume an average of 1.5 pounds of cherries per year.
• It takes about 250 cherries to make a cherry pie.
• The World Record for cherry pit spitting is 93 feet.
• Cherries are packed with nutrients!
• A cherry crisp is similar to a cherry cobbler, but the topping is oat-based instead of flour-based.