TWD-Mary (and I) had a Mixed Berry Cobbler

New England is a varied and endlessly interesting place. The Atlantic coast, with both rocky and sandy shores. Farmlands, mountains and deep woods are here too. And city and country alike always astound with a deep sense of history, permeating the air, grounding in its presence.

A cobbler is the quintessential New England dessert. Humble, lumpy and simple, yet juicy and intelligent. Softly but drippingly divine. As varied as New England...

Beth of Our Sweet Life chose Mixed Berry Cobbler this week. Huzzah! Based upon comments from other TWD bakers suggesting the biscuit topping a bit too plain, I took a tip from my all-time favorite blueberry cobbler recipe from 'Baking with Cooks Illustrated.' I added a little history in the name of 2 tablespoons of the Longfellow Wayside Inn's stone ground cornmeal, which had been ground by the power of water while I watched!

I also added a little vanilla, and a smidgen of cinnamon. The mixed berries were the teeny Maine blueberries, coupled with some blackberries for flourish. Instead of fashioning a biscuit lid, I plopped the yielding dough right on top of the bubbling berries.

The verdict--the three of us polished off the entire cobbler, spoonful by yummy spoonful, before we went to bed! Ugly, but delicious!

If you would like to get a real sense of historic New England, please visit the Wayside Inn in Sudbury Massachusetts, where you can have a pint in the original tavern dated to 1716 (which is really old for America!), watch a mill really and truly grind corn and wheat, eat dinner, sleep over, and best of all see the schoolhouse purported to be the one where Mary's little lamb followed her to school one day!

Betcha Mary and her little lamb picked berries for their own cobbler on the way back!