Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler ~ it’s one of the joys of the season, with juicy ruby red strawberries and rhubarb bubbling up around a flaky biscuit dough, what are you waiting for?
strawberry rhubarb cobbler is a spring/summer favorite
Don’t you love that first whiff of change in the air when a new season arrives? The minute I saw the crimson juices bubbling away in the skillet it all came flooding back to me, strawberry and rhubarb are phenomenal together. Not only do they create this glorious hybrid rosy pinky peach color, but the sweet of the strawberry tames the tang of the rhubarb and the two are better together than apart, like the best of marriages.
what exactly is a cobbler?
This recipe is as old as it is delicious. Cobblers and their counterparts, Bettys, grumps, slumps, dumps, buckles, pandowdys, and sonkers are all traditional American recipes, some dating way back to the first settlers.
A cobbler can take many forms, but basically it’s a dessert made in a skillet or casserole dish with a deep dish fruit filling and a topping of biscuits or dumplings like I’ve done here, or it can have a thin batter poured over it before baking. The name cobbler refers to the bumpy, ‘cobbled’ surface of the dessert.
what you’ll need for a strawberry rhubarb cobbler
- rhubarb
- strawberries
- sugar
- lemon
- flour
- sugar
- butter
- yogurt
- milk or cream
- baking powder, baking soda, salt
This cobbler is no more difficult to make than a classic crumble or crisp
The only difference is that the topping is more of a dough, held together in this case with a little yogurt. The bubbly filling is tart and juicy, and the biscuit is light and fluffy. It looks more voluptuous and impressive than a crisp, and it is! Make it with any spring or summer fruit you want. I’ve been watching for rhubarb like a hawk and finally found it the other day.
The biscuit topping on this cobbler is very easy to make, and it can be used to top all kinds of fruit. Don’t try to get it perfectly round or even, the dough is supposed to look a little ragged, and the reward for not working it too much is a tender, flaky texture.
more strawberries and rhubarb
“I made these twice in my cast iron pan on the grill. It cooked while we were eating our grilled dinner. It was amazing!!” ~ Susan
Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler
Ingredients
- 1 lb rhubarb, rinsed and thinly sliced
- 1 lb ripe strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and quartered or chopped
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 4 Tbsp flour, I love Wondra for this
biscuit topping
- 1 cup flour
- 4 Tbsp sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 5 tbsp cold butter, cut in pieces
- 1/3 cup yogurt
- bit of milk or cream if needed
Instructions
- Set the oven to 425F
- Toss the fruit with the sugar and lemon juice and let sit for about half an hour. This will get the juices flowing.
- Stir in the flour and spread the fruit out into a 9″ cast iron skillet or a square baking dish. Bake the fruit for 10-12 minutes. You should see a little bubbling beginning to happen.
- Meanwhile make the biscuit topping. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine.
- Pulse in the cold butter until the mixture is crumbly.
- Turn out into a bowl and stir in the yogurt, adding a little cream or milk if the mixture seems too dry. Mix just until the dough comes together loosely.
- Form into 6 equal mounds. Don’t worry about getting the dough into smooth balls, it will be ‘craggy’ and lumpy. that’s going to be the charm of your cobbler topping, and it means the biscuits will be light and fluffy. Sprinkle each mound of dough lightly with sugar.
- Place the six biscuits on top of the hot fruit, setting then apart so they don’t touch.
- Bake for another 16-18 minutes until the dough is golden and cooked through. Cover with foil at the end if it is getting too brown.
Notes
- You could swap all sorts of fruits for the strawberry and rhubarb in this cobbler–it would work beautifully with any kind of berry, stone-fruit in the summer, or apples and pears in the fall!
- Make this recipe gluten-free by substituting a gluten-free biscuit recipe–like this one from King Arthur Flour!
Have a question after reading your luscious rhubarb recipes for Crisp, Crumble and Cobbler, and not seeing any prep with butter, spray or otherwise ‘greasing’ the container bottom prior to placing the fruit in it followed by the topping: Does the fruit ever stick heavily to the bottom of the container? p.s. My childhood memory of rhubarb is to pull a stalk, brush it on clothing to “clean it” and chew on it raw. And neither Grandma nor Mother objected! Yum!
It’s a beautiful warm, sunny afternoon in Dallas and your gorgeous Rhubarb Cobbler would be a fabulous addition to dinner tonight! Unfortunately, I’ve no time but tomorrow is a different day with opportunities galore and I just know we’ll be enjoying it for dinner tomorrow! My previous Mother was a wonderful southern cook from Louisville, KY and she, like you, would make Rhubarb Cobbler and we all loved it! Thank you, Sue, for bringing to mind that lovely memory! You’re a fantastic cook and I am always touched when I read your posts! You always entertain me!! You’re a gift!
You’ve made my day Lucy, thanks!!
I made these twice in my cast iron pan on the grill. It cooked while we were eating our grilled dinner. It was amazing!!
Add a small box of strawberry jello. Just sprinkle it over the fruit. It adds more intense strawberry flavor.