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The blackberries have arrived! And while there are a million of them, only a small percentage are currently ripe. Most will stay red for the next couple of weeks and then they will all ripen around the same time. That’s when friends come over and help pick for hours on end – and yes, there are that many spread across the property, back in the woods, and along the field lines. The entire field would be covered in them also except that I mowed the fields just before spring, only producing new blackberry bush growth that won’t produce fruit until next year if allowed to stay (not likely as we start to cultivate the fields).

Yesterday evening, we came home and started picking just a few, here and there, and then found an entire grove with ripe berries. We ended up picking over two pounds! Tonight they were happily turned into a blackberry cobbler using my favorite cobbler recipe – complete with a sweet buttermilk biscuit crust. Perfetto! (Recipe below.)

Blackberry Cobbler
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

For filling:
6 cups fresh blackberries, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/3 to 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

For topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

To prepare filling: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Gently mix berries, cornstarch, sugar and vanilla. Place in 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Place pie plate on a foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet; bake until fruit begins to release liquid, 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare topping: Whisk together flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking soda and salt in large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, butter, and vanilla. In a small bowl, stir together cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Once fruit has begun to release its liquid, gently stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula. Mix just until dough is combined and no dry pockets remain.

Remove filling from oven. Divide the dough into 8 biscuits and arrange them over the filling. Sprinkle dough with cinnamon-sugar.

Return to oven. Bake until filling is bubbling and topping is golden brown on top and cooked through, 15-20 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack 15 minutes before serving.

(If making ahead, let cool, wrap tightly in plastic, and hold at room temperature up to 8 hours. Reheat in a 350-degree oven until warm, 10-15 minutes.)

Recipe adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.