I never met a wall of blackberries I didn’t like.

As a matter of fact – I’ve also never met a cobbler I didn’t like.  Especially one described by good friend Jenny as “a snickerdoodle on top of yummy berry goodness!”  This past month, those two great loves combined to form an indescribable bowl of delicousness!

Now enter Jo. She has known Steve ever since he became best friends with her son in Kindergarten and has opened her arms and her home to both Steve and I ever since we started dating nearly six years ago. She even hosted our welcome dinner the night before we got married in San Diego. We’ve cooked amazing meals together, picked avocados and lemons from her unbelievable yard and stayed up late drinking wine and chatting for hours. Some of my fondest memories are sitting in her sunroom before everyone was awake drinking coffee and leafing through her garden books. It was Jo that really put that gardening spark in me. Her home and yard are straight from the pages of Martha Stewart and she has a wealth of wisdom when it comes to gardening and life. And who couldn’t love someone who lets you devour her wall of blackberries?

I should probably explain the wall…Jo has gorgeous, sweet blackberries in her yard and every year she lets me loose in her garden to pick as many as I can before the birds get to them. For the first fifteen minutes or so I probably put more in my mouth than I do in my bowl but I can’t help myself. They are so sweet and juicy. Plus I notice that Jo does the same thing so I never feel too bad.

This past trip, as a thank you, I cooked Jo a fabulous dinner after an afternoon of foraging. We spent a couple hours in kitchen making pasta from scratch, salad from the farmer’s market and the most incredible cobbler this side of Texas. It was the perfect evening.

I first saw this recipe in Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc and have since made it four times. It’s a simple recipe that delivers incredible results. I found that replacing the blueberries with a mix of strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries yields the best results.  Berries are at their prime right now and there is nothing better on a summer night than fresh berry cobbler.

I hope you enjoy with friends sitting outside enjoying the long summer days!

Snickerdoodle Berry Cobbler (my name, not his)

Recipe from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home

Topping:

1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp each: baking powder, baking soda

6 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

Filling:

4 cups strawberries

2 cups raspberries

2 cups blueberries or blackberries

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Cinnamon sugar:

1 tbsp granulated sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 350F degrees. For topping, in medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and baking soda.

2. In large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Using hand mixer, mix on low speed, then beat on medium until mixture is light and creamy, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides as needed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until fully incorporated. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with buttermilk in 2 batches. Scrape down sides; mix again to ensure all ingredients are combined.

3. For filling, in medium bowl, toss berries with sugar, flour and zest. Spoon into 8 over proof bowls (ramikins). Spoon mounds of batter over berries.

4. For cinnamon sugar, stir together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over batter. Bake in preheated 350F oven 40 minutes or until juices are bubbling and topping is golden and cooked through.

Let stand at least 10 minutes before serving. (Refrigerate leftovers up to 2 days.)

Makes 8 servings.