Plump and juicy blackberries baked underneath a soft and buttery snickerdoodle cookie crust!
Recently, I’ve been making a lot of blackberry recipes. So much so that my supply of frozen blackberries had dwindled down to one measly bag! Thankfully, my aunt and uncle’s house is absolutely surrounded by blackberry bushes, so I was able to replenish my supply rather quickly. My mom and I made two trips this past week, and I plan on taking at least a few more trips before the season ends. Hey, there’s no such thing as too many blackberries!!
This is especially true when you take a look at this LOVEly Blackberry Snickerdoodle Cobbler…
Although this isn’t your traditional berry cobbler recipe, I assure you it’s MUCH better. Why? Well as the title states, this cobbler is made with snickerdoodle cookie dough. So instead of baking the berries under boring ol’ biscuit topping, they’re baked under a soft and deliciously cinnamon-spiced snickerdoodle cookie.
And this isn’t the first time I’ve substituted snickerdoodle dough in a cobbler recipe. I’ve done it with peaches as well as apples, and the results were nothing short of divine.
Even though it is an extra step, I prefer to cook my berries BEFORE baking them in the oven. The main reason why I pre-cook the berries is that I like to have the reassurance that my berry filling is thick enough. Whenever I simply toss the berries with the sugar and cornstarch and bake it in the oven, I’m often crossing my fingers (AND toes) as I scoop into the finished cobbler, hoping to DEAR God that it’s not a runny mess. The other advantage of pre-cooking your berries is that it requires less time in the oven since it’s more about making sure the cobbler topping is baked through.
To sweeten the berries, I used granulated sugar. As for thickening the berry mixture, I almost always rely on cornstarch. For one thing, it has twice the thickening power of flour. And another thing, it doesn’t alter the flavor like flour does.
Since cornstarch has the tendency to clump, my not-so-secret secret is to combine it with the sugar, salt, and cinnamon BEFORE adding it to the berries. The sugar granules break up the little cornstarch clumps, making it much easier to incorporate into the berries.
Once the berry mixture has thickened up, remove it from the stove and add just a splash of lemon juice.
The snickerdoodle dough recipe is the same one I use for all of my other snickerdoodle cookie recipes. It’s soft, thick, and bakes up extra fluffy on top of this cobbler. Because this snickerdoodle is so soft and chewy, the dough will be really soft and sticky after you make it up. That’s why it’s absolutely crucial that you chill the dough for AT LEAST 2 hours before placing it on top of the berries.
To make it easier to lay the dough on top of the berries, I recommend having some nonstick cooking spray or a little bowl of vegetable oil nearby. Having greased hands will make it much easier to flatten pieces of the dough without it sticking to every one of your fingers. Try your best to cover as much of the berries as possible.
Before the cobbler is ready to go into the oven, it gets sprinkled in a generous dusting of cinnamon-sugar. There’s definitely no skimping when it comes to that lustrous cinnamon-sugar blanket on top.
After a 35-40 minute trip to the oven, the cobbler should be golden brown and bubbly around the edges. Although the heavenly cinnamon-sugar aroma might tempt you to dig right in once the cobbler is out of the oven, you’ll need to allow it to cool for AT LEAST 30 minutes. Preferably 1 hour, if you can stand it. The berry filling will be as hot as lava straight out of the oven, and it’ll also thicken up a bit as it cools.
As with all of my fruit crisps and cobblers, ice cream is an absolute must! While I adore ice cream flavors that have all of the nuts, candies, and delicious swirls, you can’t beat the simplicity of creamy vanilla ice cream when it comes to cobblers.
The blackberry bushes are calling…
Blackberry Snickerdoodle Cobbler
Ingredients
Snickerdoodle Cookie Crust:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 3 Tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
Cinnamon-Sugar:
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Berry Filling:
- 7 cups blackberries, divided
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 4 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
Make the Cookie Crust:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together; set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add both sugars and continue beating on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg, and beat just until combined. Add the milk and vanilla and beat on medium-high speed until fully incorporated.
- Dump in the flour mixture and beat on low just until combined, about 1 minute. Wrap dough tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until it's less sticky, and easier to handle.
Make the Cinnamon-Sugar:
- In a small bowl, stir the sugar and cinnamon together.
Make the Berry Filling:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. In a medium saucepan, heat 6 cups of the berries over medium heat until they soften and their juices release (about 3-4 minutes).
- In a separate bowl, whisk sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt together. Stir dry mixture into the berries and continue stirring until mixture thickens, and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove saucepan from heat and stir in the remaining 1 cup of berries and lemon juice.
- Transfer the filling to an 8-inch square baking dish. Use greased hands to place flattened pieces of the snickerdoodle dough evenly over the filling. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar evenly on top.
- Tent a piece of tin foil over the top of the cobbler. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown on top. Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. Leftover cobbler can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.