Don’t be fooled by all the recipes out there that tell you apple cobbler is prepared in ways other than the two ways I am showing you here. Or that it looks like anything else. It simply would not be correct. Cobbler should be made with a slightly sweet biscuit dough dropped on top of apples (or whatever fruit you desire) and baked. It should resemble a cobblestone street, hence the name. Here are two ways of making it. I prefer the rolled-out dough topping. My Yankee eyes love the look of it.
Biscuit Topping:
1 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ stick (1/4 cup) cold butter, margarine, or vegetable shortening
¾ cup milk
Filling:
5 cups sliced or thinly wedges apples
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon each nutmeg and allspice
¼ teaspoon ground cloves, optional
Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.
First Way
In a medium bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend thoroughly.
Add whichever fat you desire and with fingertips. Get right in there and crush it all together until the fat is reduced to small pebbles in size. Add milk and continue mixing until it just comes together. You can use a sturdy wooden spoon if desire. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add apples, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves if using. Toss all together so all apples are uniformly coated.
Transfer apple mixture to a 9-inch square pan, leveling the top as much as possible.
Start plopping tablespoon sized mounds of biscuit dough over the top, leaving very little space between dollops. Heavily dust the top with a mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
Bake 45–60 minutes, or until the apple mixture is bubbling up through the topping in a syrup consistency and the top is browned. Remove to eat hot with whipped cream or ice cream. (It is also good to eat when it gets cold, such as on the next day.)
Second Way
The second way to prepare this recipe is by making the biscuit dough but decrease milk to 1/2 cup.
When you are done mixing, transfer to heavily floured work surface. Knead just until it comes together and is no longer sticky, about a minute or less.
Roll out to about an inch in thickness, cut into squares, circles or whatever you want.
Place on top of the apples, leaving a little space in between each, and brush some cream, half-and-half, or milk over the top before dusting with cinnamon sugar mixture.
Cook in the same way, as mentioned above.
