Johnnycake Cobblers

By norsegal8

The cobbler and its cousins, the pandowdy, the slump and the grunt, are members of a family of old-fashioned down-home American desserts that mix sweetened fruits with biscuits of varying kinds. Here, sliced nectarines and purple plums are spooned into individual soufflé cups and topped with sweet cream and johnnycake meal biscuit. Johnnycake meal is what Rhode Islanders call white cornmeal, used here to give this bursting-with fruit cobbler an extra measure of flavor and structure and just a tad of added crunch. You can order johnnycake meal by mail or use yellow cornmeal and delight in the tinge of gold it will give the cobbler's craggy top. And while you're improvising, feel free to use different combinations of fruit, sprinkle in a little spice, or spoon the rich biscuit-topping over a family-sized cobbler.

Ingredients

• Ingredients
• Filling
• 1 1/2 T unsalted butter
• 2 T sugar
• 4 large plums and 2 large nectarines, cut into pieces (about 3 cups of fruit pieces)
• Biscuit Topping
• 3/4 C unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/4 C coarsely ground corn meal (white stone ground corn meal if you want to be totally authentic)
• 1 1/2 T sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/4 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 C plus 2 T milk or cream

Preparation

Step 1

Melt the butter in a large saucepan or saucier over low heat.
Add the sugar, raise the heat to medium, and stir until the sugar is melted.
Add the fruit and cook on medium until softened.
Raise the heat to medium high and cook the fruit, stirring often, until it reaches a pie filling consistency but still juicy.
Spoon the filling into two 4 inch ramekins.
Place the ramekins on a foil lined baking sheet.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and place a rack in the middle of the oven.
Place the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to mix.
Add the butter pieces and toss them with a spoon to coat them with the flours.
Pulse a few times until you have the consistency of course polenta/grits.
Pour the flour/butter mix into a bowl, add the milk/cream, and stir with a fork until all of the dry ingredients are incorporated. You will have a mixture with the consistency of oatmeal.
Spoon the batter over the filling. I had quite a bit left over.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown on top.
Cool on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes.
This dessert is best served warm, but can be kept at room temperature for a few hours.