- 8
- 15 mins
- 75 mins
Ingredients
- Special equipment: 12-inch seasoned cast iron skillet; a 2 1/4-inch round cookie cutter
- 1/2 cup golden raisins (we made ours a nice heaping cup)
- 1/2 cup Calvados or apple brandy (see Notes)
- 3 1/2 pounds Gala apples, or about 8
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon, for sprinkling on apples
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- Rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream, divided
- 1 1/2 tablespoons turbinado such as Sugar in the Raw for sprinkling, or white sugar will do, too
Preparation
Step 1
Simmer raisins and brandy in a small saucepan over medium heat until liquid is reduced to 3 tablespoons for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let macerate, covered, 30 minutes. While raisins macerate, peel and core apples, then cut into 1-inch pieces. Toss with the lemon juice.
Melt butter in skillet over low heat. Once melted, sprinkle mixed white and brown sugars evenly over pan, then do the same with raisins and remaining brandy. Add apples – skillet will be pretty full at this point – and smooth them down as much as possible (this will enable the juices to reach as many of the apples as possible while simmering). Sprinkle with cinnamon. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Cook apples over medium-high heat, without stirring, until juices are deep golden and bubbling, 18 to 23 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and bake, uncovered, 20 minutes.
Make biscuit topping while apples bake:
Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt, then add 3/4 cup cream and stir just until a dough forms. It won’t quite all come together, this is OK. Gather dough into a ball and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Gently knead 6 times, then, using a rolling pin, roll dough into an 8-inch round, about 1/4 inch or so thick. Cut out as many rounds as possible with lightly floured cutter. Gather scraps and roll out, then cut out more rounds. Do this until you’ve used up all the dough. We got about 12-14 biscuit rounds out of it.
Assemble and bake cobbler:
Arrange biscuits on apples about 1/2 inch apart and brush tops with remaining tablespoon cream – you can use more if needed. Sprinkle with turbinado or white sugar and bake until biscuits are puffed and golden, about 15-17 minutes. Cool in skillet 20 minutes before serving – this is important as the cobbler will be extremely hot. Cast iron skillets get much hotter and hold heat longer as well. The cobbler will taste best once it’s cooled. Serve with a little cream, or better yet, vanilla ice cream.
Notes:
This is best when freshly made but can be baked 3 hours ahead and reheated in a 350°F oven. I actually just served ours at room temperature about three hours after it was finished and it was divine. Refrigerate leftovers and either reheat for a few seconds in microwave or spoon into a small casserole and reheat in oven. I was lazy, used the microwave. Still good.
On the Calvados/brandy: As I noted in the picture wonderland above, the apple brandy was very hard for us to find. I was at a point where I was considering substitutes, and the best I could think of was 1/4 cup apple liqueur and 1/4 cup regular brandy. Some of the employees we talked to at the stores had no idea there was such a thing as apple brandy, but if yours has knowledgeable staff, they might be able to make a suggestion for you. One gal suggested a brand called Laird’s to us, and they did happen to have two kinds, an apple brandy and one called Laird’s Applejax. We ended up getting the Laird’s apple brandy, so worth it, especially as I’ll definitely be making this dessert again. Did I mention yet how much this dessert is worth it?
On cast iron: Be sure to let your cast iron skillet cool completely before washing it in cool water and mild dish soap. If you wash it while it’s still hot or warm, you risk cracking the pan, rendering it useless. Make sure you get all food residue off the pan, then wipe it dry – never let it drip dry or you risk letting rust form. Occasional re-seasoning might be needed over the years, especially if you haven’t used your pan in a long time. If you use your pan regularly, this will also effectively help to season the pan, and it’ll get a better and better seasoning on it the more you use it and properly care for it.
Also, any time you use cast iron, always heat it up slowly. So if you need to use it on medium-high heat at first, instead heat it slowly on low heat and gradually work up to higher heat for about 5-10 minutes. This is some advice I’ve come across over the years and I’ve been adhering to it since I am using cast iron more often these days. This also should help prevent cracking.