Apple Raisin Cobbler

I was going to make an apple pie to bring to a dinner party. I underestimated the time it takes to travel between Chinatown (for Kungfu training), NYC midtown (for work) and Brooklyn Heights. I ended up having only an hour to bake. With the crust making, the chilling, rolling out and the prettifying, there's no way I would be able to finish it in an hour. Cobbler came to the rescue.



It's equally satisfying but way easier to make. Although it doesn't look as pretty as a pie, everybody appreciates a homemade dessert - made with a dose of love.



I used Honeycrisp apples which are quite sweet and hold their shape well after baking. With about half a cup of golden raisins, I didn't need to add much sugar to have the cobbler qualify as dessert. The topping came from Jamie Oliver's Happy Days with the Naked Chef. It produced crisp, tender and buttery not too sweet biscuit like topping - perfect for any juicy fruit cobbler.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds Honeycrisp apples - peeled, cored and cut into small cubes


• 1/2 cup golden raisins


• 1/4 cup brown sugar


• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon


• A pinch of ground nutmeg


• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour


• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder


• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda


• 1/4 teaspoon salt


• 1/4 cup sugar


• 6 tablespoons butter - chilled and cut into small chunks


• 1/2 cup buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Toss apples, raisins, spices and 1/4 cup of brown sugar together. Pour into a 9 inch square baking dish.


2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With a pastry blender or two table knifes, cut the butter into the flour mixture until you get coarse crumbs


3. Add buttermilk. With a spatula, turn the dough over itself 8 to 10 times to get a wet dough. Spoon over the fruit.


4. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the fruit bubbles and the top is lightly brown.