Friday, June 5, 2009

Cobbled Together

This was a hard week.  A really hard week.  Things were said, things were not said...  And I wasn't prepared for any of it.



But then all of a sudden something broke.  Or rather, something broken was suddenly reset and stitched together again.  And then everything felt (mostly) all right.



My friends Sean and Melissa (yep, the same ones) are leaving for several months.  After spending a large portion of this painful week at their house, I am even more sad to see them go.  Tonight some of us are getting together for games, togetherness, and a whole lot of laughter, and I've made this Strawberry Graham Cobbler to add a little sugar to the festivities.


It's warm and oozing with sugary strawberry goop, and topped with a brown sugar and graham cracker crumb topping that's really more of a streusel than anything else.  I hope it adds some sweetness to our time together tonight.



Strawberry Graham Crumble

Filling:
32 ounces frozen strawberries
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon flour

Topping:
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup (1 stick) butter, chilled and cut into small cubes

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine filling ingredients in baking dish, stirring until the strawberries are fully coated with the sugar/ flour mixture.

In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients for the topping.  Then add the cubes of chilled butter and integrate into dry ingredients using a pastry cutter, fork, or your fingertips, until the butter is thoroughly mixed throughout and feels like damp sand.  There should still be small clumps of butter, about the size of a pea.

Spoon the topping onto the strawberries and bake for 35-45 minutes, until the strawberries are bubbling and the top is golden brown.  Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving.

4 comments:

Anton Seim said...

I was looking at these pictures and I became overwhelmed with an insatiable desire for something baked, with cherries in it. I know this is strawberry, but CHERRIES, I need them now!

Catherine Slezinger said...

This looks SO GOOD!

sabrina said...

I'm making this with cherries!!

Also, here is the blueberry one I mentioned (I would cut the flour on the berries down to 1 tbsp - mine was a little dry but still good):


Ingredients
For the topping:

* 4 ounces pecan pieces (about 1 cup)
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 1/4 cups rolled (old-fashioned) oats
* 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* A couple pinches salt
* 1 stick (8 tablespoons) butte,r cut into small pieces

For the berries:

* 2 pints fresh blueberries
* 1/2 lemon, juiced
* 3 tablespoons sugar
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the topping: Put all topping ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your hands until mixture sticks together in small clumps.

Pour the blueberries into a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Squeeze the lemon juice over the berries, sprinkle the sugar and flour over them and toss until the berries are coated with sugar.

Scatter the topping over the berries in an even layer. Bake until the topping is golden brown and the berry juice is bubbling up through the topping, about 45 to 50 minutes.

Kaitlyn said...

Oh how I love cobbler! I've never used graham crackers in the topping, but that sounds like a delicious addition that I'd like to try.