Apple Sage Cobbler

This is the final installment of the "fresh herbs, meet baked goods" series I did for Becky's Meals; For Moderns blog (although I'm secretly hoping she invites me back soon).

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I do a lot of complaining about the Joy of Cooking, but I have to admit--I actually use it quite often, especially lately. After I got over the fact that it's totally not something I'd use to plan meals and started considering it more as a resource for building far more interesting recipes, I warmed up to it. It's like the starter drug for cooking.

There's also something mildly comforting about the JoC. It's what your mom had in the kitchen next to do-it-yourself binders stuffed with recipes she cut out of Good Housekeeping and the backs of graham cracker boxes and glued to copier paper. The simple cover; the red circle; the all-lowercase, serif font used on those fantastic three letters. Like I said, I'm really feeling warmer here.

Last week was a challenging one. Not just for me, but for some close friends as well. I initially wanted to do something savvy, fun, and ambitious for my last guest post (bruising lemongrass sounded so cool!), but when it came down to Sunday evening (baking day for the gainfully employed and over-booked) all I wanted was something warm and familiar.

We had also just picked up our produce CSA box for the week and had another bag full of apples. Those who know me well know that I have a serious physical aversion to apples. It's happened to me as for as long as I can remember: the sound (ugh) of someone biting into an apple (ergh) and chewing it (argh) gives me goosebumps, like squeaky chalk on a chalkboard for normal people. Unlike squeaky chalk, though, the apple sound also makes me--you're going to love this--start salivating voraciously. Like one of this guy's test subjects. It even happens when I think about the sound. Right now, for example. I'm shivering and salivating like mad.

So I don't eat (or think about) raw apples. It's pretty physically uncomfortable for me. But baked apples--like those in apple cobbler--are totally tolerable. And what's more comforting than cobbler? (And how else am I going to get rid of these apples??)

I consulted the JoC for a basic cobbler recipe to better understand what I was getting myself into. Cobbler seems like a pretty traditional baked good, and I'm not exactly known for being traditional with my baking, so I felt a little out of my league. I ended up lifting the cobbler dough recipe right out of the "biscuits" section (but added lemon zest, so it's still unique, right?).

Sage, meanwhile, seemed like the perfect pairing. A nice complement, taste-wise, and kind of a warm and comforting herb, as well.

As you'll see in the recipe, I made a sage-infused butter and tossed the apples in it. I strained the sage out before doing the apples, which I wouldn't do next time. I think this would have been really tasty with the sage baked right in.

Apple Sage Cobbler



Apple sage cobbler! The perfect visual accompaniment to a wall outlet.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and have ready an (ungreased) 8x8 inch glass baking dish.

Begin by preparing the dough that you'll put either above (my choice) or below (seems interesting) the fruit.

Sour Cream Cobbler Biscuit Dough

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
4 tbsp chilled unsalted butter
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 - 2 tbsp lemon zest

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

Using two knives, cut-in the butter, one tablespoon at a time. The dough should be a bit crumbly.

Whisk together the sour cream, heavy cream, and lemon zest.

Make a well in the center of the bowl. Pour the sour cream mixture into the well and stir just until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl (note: this actually never happened for me--everything just got crumbly).

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 8 to 10 times. Roll (or, using your fingers, press) the dough until it's about 1/4 of an inch thick.

Then, turn to the fruit.

Sage Apple Mixture

6-8 medium apples, sliced
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp chopped fresh sage

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, with the sage, over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and use a fork to mix until the brown sugar seems evenly mixed with the butter. When the butter starts to bubble, turn the heat down to low. Simmer for 3-4 minutes to infuse the butter with the sage. Strain the butter to remove the sage and transfer to a large frying pan on medium heat.

Toss the apples in the butter mixture over the heat for 5-6 minutes, then take the pan off the heat and let sit for 2-3 minutes.

Transfer the apples to the glass baking pan and drizzle the butter mixture over them, saving around 1/2 tbsp. Place the cobbler dough on top of the apples and cut it to fit, if needed. Cut 3 small steam vents into the dough.

Using a spoon (or a fancy cooking brush thing if you have one!), brush the remaining butter mixture on top of the dough. Sprinkle 2-4 tsp of sugar on top.

Bake until the top is golden brown and the apple juices have thickened slightly--it only took about 30 minutes for me. Let the cobbler cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Serve with fresh whipped cream (you should have some heavy whipping cream left over from the dough!):

1/2 c heavy whipping cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 - 1 tbsp confectioners' sugar

Using an electric mixer, beat the whipping cream, vanilla, and confectioners' sugar until it makes stiff peaks.