Apple Cobbler

This recipe comes from my sister, the lib lawyer. I don't really know how or why she became so liberal, it just happened. I was either in great denial or completely blind to it, but she is an anti death penalty-pro choice-steak lovin' but thinkin' vegan-no gun toting-believes it is her civil duty to pay more taxes-Obama lovin'-liberal. I discovered the extent of her stance when she went all the way up to Washington D.C., 1364.90 miles, to witness the inauguration of our current president.

And somehow, I love her anyway. I think a lot of that love comes from the fact that she has and will always be her own person. I admire that she is exactly who she wants to be, even if that is way different than her family. The lib lawyer will always travel along her own path. Even if the path she chooses is bumpier and includes more government and taxes- sorry, had to get one more jab in.

The lib lawyer is also an amazing cook and was gracious enough to share this recipe with me. She has taken this dish to many parties and always gets rave reviews. I just made a couple of changes to the recipe to be more conducive to apple filling.

When you look at an apple there is really more to the story than just the fruit and the stem. Envision a flower, somewhat like a carnation. There is a green base to the flower that is located between the actual flower and the stem. The edible flesh of an apple comes from that green base. On an apple that we get from the store, you can see the remains of the flower. It is on the opposite side of the stem, sometimes referred to as the scar. Pears are also formed in the same manner.

There are not too many ingredients in this recipe. The best part is that other than the fruit, you probably have most of the ingredients in the pantry.

Ingredients:

Filling-

8 c. tart apples

1 heaping c. sugar

3 T. flour

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2t. vanilla extract

1 T. butter, melted and cooled

Juice of half and orange or whole lemon

Topping-

1 c. flour

1 c. sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 c. (1 stick) cold butter

1/2 t. salt

1 t. baking powder

1t. vanilla

2 eggs

orange zest

You need eight cups of diced apples. This is somewhere between five to seven apples - I used all seven that I bought. Peel the apples. I used Gala Apples and they were yummy. I like to try to peel the apples into one long strip. It reminds me of that creepy movie, "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle".

After peeling an apple you will probably begin to notice some browning of the flesh. This is a chemical defence mechanism of the plant. It occurs between the enzymes in the plant cells that have been damaged and the oxygen in the air. To slow the browning, simply place acidic chemicals on the apple flesh. In this recipe we will be adding orange juice, but lemon juice works just as well.

Since the dessert centers around the apples, I decided to use this apple corer and slicer. I wanted the apple pieces to be as uniform as possible.

Dice the apples. They don't need to be paper thin but you also don't want them to be too chunky. My sister, the lib lawyer, and I were taught how to dice apples for baking from our Grandmother Ruth. Well, she isn't really our grandmother but she might as well be and it is the shortest explanation of how we are related to her. Ruth taught us how to make Sour Cream Apple Pie which is a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition. At some point in time I would love to put that recipe on here. Place the diced apples in a separate bowl. Add sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, vanilla extract, juice, and butter.

Go ahead and mix together with your hands.

Let the mixture sit for at least an hour or overnight in the refrigerator. Look at all the juice that is made by letting the mixture macerate! Maceration is the process of producing juice by pulling out the liquid located in the fruit. It also softens the fruit and adds to the flavor of what you are making.

Grease a 9x13 dish with butter. Isn't this dish beautiful? I absolutely love the blue color. It was given to me by my sister-in-law last Christmas. The best part is that it was a complete surprise!

Place the apple filling into the greased pan.

Now it is time to make the topping of this cake. Place flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, and sugar into another small bowl or directly into a food processor. Lightly pulse the ingredients to get an even distribution.

Add the cold butter in pats. A pat of butter is a slice of butter that is less than a tablespoon.

Pulse until the contents of the food processor look like wet sand.

Place vanilla, eggs, and orange zest into a small bowl.

Beat the wet ingredients until will mixed.

Add the dry ingredients from the food processor to the wet ingredients you just whisked together.

Incorporate the two together. I used my hands again, but I am crazy like that.

Drop the topping mixture on the apple filling by the tablespoon. The recipe specifically states to do this by the tablespoon and not to spread the mixture. This is a perfect example of the fundamental difference between my sister, the lib lawyer, and myself. She spreads the mixture out and I don't. She is a rebel and I am a rule follower. In the end either way works.

Bake the apple cobbler for 45 minutes to an hour or until the apples are soft. I also turned the broiler on for a couple of minutes to brown the topping. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream and enjoy!

It is important to note that this cobbler can be made with any type of fruit. I added the cinnamon to accommodate the apples, but with out that ingredient this is a basic cobbler recipe. Other fruits that would be great to try are raspberries, blue berries and peaches. These fruits could be fresh or frozen. The options with this dessert are really limitless as long as you follow the basics.

And to my sister, the lib lawyer, thank you for the recipe and the many years of keeping me on my toes!