Brant County Federation of Agriculture
FOR BRANT NEWS

It is our pleasure to introduce you to Sarah Hamilton, the next “celebrity chef” in our “busy mom” series.

Sarah has graciously offered to share her recipe for fruit cobbler, a quick dessert that her children enjoy.

This recipe is a tried and true family favourite. It has been passed down from one generation to the next and,now, grandma’s cobbler has become one of the kids’ favourite desserts.

Of course, mom likes it because it’s very easy to make and you have everything you need to make it in your cupboard. You can quickly make it before you start supper and it’s done by the time supper is ready.

Sarah likes strawberry-rhubarb cobbler the best, but her children’s favourite is apple. She laughs and acknowledges that “they enhale it.”

“I don’t think it has ever lasted more than two days,” she says.

Sarah makes cobbler at least once a month and often takes it to family potlucks or picnics.

“Hands down, it is one of our favourites,” she says.

Sarah likes to “follow the seasons” and use fresh fruit, but it can be made with frozen fruit. We know she uses locally grown fruit, as her mom operates Hamilton’s U Pick, growing strawberries, raspberries and rhubarb.

Be sure to check out www.bountifulbrant.ca for more recipe ideas and a listing of local farmers who have frozen fruit for sale.

Doesn’t it make you wish it was strawberry season?  Enjoy!

Fruit cobbler

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Pan size 8×8 or 9×9 (This recipe can be doubled if you want to use a larger pan).

Ingredients for cake mixture:

1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Cream together margarine and sugar, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix. Set aside. Arrange fruit on bottom on the pan.

For apple cobbler, use three large apples, peeled and sliced. Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon.

For blueberry cobbler, use fresh or thawed and drained frozen blueberries, enough to have approximately one inch covering the bottom of the plan. Sprinkle with sugar over top to taste.

For strawberry-rhubarb cobbler, use fresh fruit or drain all juice from frozen berries after thawed. Use three to four stalks of rhubarb and approximately 1/2 quart of strawberries. Sprinkle sugar over the berry-rhubarb mixture to help with tartness.

Pour cake mixture over the fruit and bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or enjoy it cold.