When Life Gives You Cherries, Make A Cobbler

I asked my husband to acquire Bing cherries on Friday.  I wasn't specific about where he should go to get them or how much I wanted.  When I arrived home from work, I found a bulging 15-pound box of ripe cherries sitting on the kitchen counter.  Knowing how much I love them, my dear husband, bless his soul, drove all the way to the Oakland Wholesale Produce Terminal and bought an entire bulk case. 

Do you want to know the most amazing tidbit about this story, he paid $17 for the 15-pound case.  No, I didn't stutter, that's well under $2 a pound.  And, before you assume that these were culls, I'll nip that notion in the bud.  These cherries were top quality—sweet, plump, dark burgundy, grown locally in Stockton, and for a fraction of what you'd pay just about anywhere else.  However, as much as I LOVE cherries, and have dozens of recipes utilizing them, I've learned that there's a phenomenon called "cherry fatigue." 

The weekend started innocently enough with cherry preserves, cherry gelato and panna cotta with cherry compote.  Last night however, as I pulled the latest cherry creation out of the oven and called my family to enjoy it, I was greeted by the sound of crickets.  Apparently my husband and children went in to hiding.  They were indignant, accusing me of trying to induce them in to a "cherry coma."   I had managed to turn this beloved spring fruit in to a WMD. 

And yet, after exhausting a plethora of the culinary applications, the box still brimmed  formidably.  In fact, it looked like I had barely made a dent.  So this morning, I ignored my nagging conscience and placed a big handful of fresh cherries into my youngest son's school snack.  I know when he opens up his little snack bag this morning and sees those cherries, he will be very, very angry.  But what to do?  I  cannot let them rot—I loathe food waste and still have a gazillion recipes up my sleeve which call for fresh cherries.  

If you're inundated with cherries as I am, or simply want an inventive way to use this fleeting spring fruit,  please find my latest cherry creation below. 

Bing Cherry Cobbler

For the Buttermilk Biscuit Topping

 2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour + extra for dusting

2 tablespoons granulated sugar teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons chilled butter, cut in to 1/2" cubes

4-6 tablespoons chilled buttermilk

1 large egg beaten

For The Cherry Filling

4 cups ripe Bing cherries washed, stemmed and de-pitted

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350.

Wash and pit the cherries.  In a large bowl, toss the cherries with the lemon juice.  Whisk together 1/2 cup of sugar and flour and toss with the cherries, coating evenly.  Butter a two-quart casserole or six individual baking dishes and distribute the cherries evenly.

In the bowl of a food processor or a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Add the chilled cut-up butter and process or cut in to the dry ingredients with a pastry blender until the butter is the size of small peas.  Add the buttermilk a tablespoon at a time, gently mixing or processing in bursts until the dough becomes cohesive and can be rolled out.  Do not overwork  the dough or it will be tough. 

Dust a surface lightly with flour and roll out the dough to 1" thick.  Use a biscuit cutter or a very sharp knife to cut the dough into pieces to top the cherries.  Place the dough pieces over the cherries and brush with beaten egg.  

Bake individual cobblers for 25-30 minutes or 45 minutes for a two-quart cobbler, until the biscuits are golden brown and the cherries begin to bubble.  Serve warm out of the oven with vanilla ice cream.

Makes six servings.