Zen and the Art of Cherry Cobbler

There's something soothing about the precision in baking. I'm not normally a exacting person in the kitchen. Eight times out of ten my experiments work out well - the other two times it's generally a quasi-inedible disaster. It's a good ratio, but the other problem with 'a little of this, a little of that, oh what's this random thing I have in the fridge, that would be really good with this other random thing' - is that it's nearly impossible to replicate. Constant reinvention keeps me fresh, but I really need to be better about writing down my successes if I ever want to eat them more than once.

What did you do to those poor cherries?!

Following the recipes from the New York Times page (well, mostly...) is an exercise in mindfulness and stretching my fine motor skills - being more precise, leveling off the dry ingredients, triple checking the wet. Getting fingers and countertops sticky in the process of creation is a wonderful respite from my extremely screen-focused life. And while my previous efforts were solo, this go-round I had help from my fantastic roommate Liz. She pitted two and a half pounds of cherries, surrendering her porcelain fingers to a hue more appropriate for a crazed serial killer.

In honor of my younger sister's 22nd birthday last Thursday I asked her to choose which pie to make this time around. She's had an aversion to birthday cake for about ten years, and consequently always has a pie on her day. I felt it was only appropriate. She picked Cherry Cobbler with Almond-Buttermilk Topping. Which isn't technically a pie. Take it up with the Times, they're the ones who picked the recipes.

This recipe was relatively healthy (considering it's a pie). I appreciated the mix of flours - the almond meal was excellent and contributed to the texture. I didn't have any almond extract, so the trusty bourbon vanilla was substituted. Make some bourbon vanilla, ya'll. Two vanilla beans in a jar filled with bourbon. Let it sit for two weeks. I use it ALL THE TIME and it's so delicious.

At any rate, the cherries were pitted, the topping came together like a dream, and several friends gathered in my apartment to try it out. Though it was late in London (Katy is overseas for the summer as an au pair), I called her on FaceTime and we sang her Happy Birthday from across the pond. There's one serving of the dish sitting in my freezer, awaiting her return. She's pretty incredible and deserves some yummy pie when she gets home from her adventures. It was really delicious. So delicious that I forgot to get a picture of the finished result. 5chw4r7z snapped a pic of the decimated dish.

Okay, here we go.

Cherry Cobbler with Almond-Buttermilk Topping - adapted from this recipe

takes about an hour, depending on how fast you can pit cherries (if you have someone else pitting cherries while you make the topping, then it comes together quickly!)
can be prepared ahead of time and re-warmed later
serves about 8. it could easily be doubled - everyone definitely wanted seconds!

Here's what you need:

(For Filling)

• 1 1/2 pounds cherries, stemmed and pitted (about 5 cups)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract - or bourbon vanilla. And if it's vanilla, up it to a tablespoon.

(For Topping)

• 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal, also called almond flour or almond powder (1 1/2 ounces)
• 1/2 cup fine cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2/3 cup buttermilk - I used 2/3 of a cup of milk with 3 tablespoons of lemon juice added. Because who buys buttermilk on purpose? Not this guy.

Here's what you do with it:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. Place the cherries in a large bowl, and add the sugar, lemon juice and all-purpose flour. Carefully mix them together with a rubber spatula or a large spoon until the sugar and flour have dissolved into the liquids. Transfer to the baking dish, making sure to scrape out all of the liquid in the bowl.
• Sift all of the dry ingredients for the topping. (If you can't find your sifter, just put it all in the food processor because it's going to basically sift it for you.) Place in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade, and pulse a few times. Add the butter, and pulse to cut in the butter until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Turn on the food processor, and pour in the buttermilk with the machine running. As soon as the dough comes together, stop the machine.
• Spoon the topping over the cherries by the heaped tablespoon. The cherries should be just about covered but may peek out here and there. Place in the oven, and bake 35 to 40 minutes until the top is nicely browned and the cherries are bubbling. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool to warm before serving. Serve warm (heat in a low oven for 15 minutes if necessary before serving).