Mixed Fruit Cobbler

Along with the penne from yesterday, we also made a big cobbler. The dough I used is a modified pie crust recipe, with increased fat because I wanted to have a crust type that could work for either pie or cobbler. I used it initially for blackberry pie and pineapple-cranberry pie over Thanksgiving to test it, and it did seem to be great for pie and perfect for cobbler. For pie, it makes a soft crust, but not ultra-flaky like many prefer. For cobbler, it's pretty much the ideal texture. Soft insides, but crisp outer portion. You could use any kind of fruit for this dessert, though. Originally we'd planned to do peaches, but instead went with a mixture of pineapple, mango, strawberry and grape. If you don't need a gigantic dessert, you can easily cut this in half and still feed 4-6 people dessert. Hope you enjoy!

Crust:

3 cups flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt (1 teaspoon iodized salt)
3-4 tablespoons of sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 1/2 sticks cold butter
2/3 cup cold shortening
ice water

Mix together salt, sugar and flour. Cut in (using either food processor by pulsing, knives, pastry blender or hands) butter and shortening until it looks like little pebbles or very small gravel. Add in water, 1-2 tablespoons at a time, until dough is moistened and crumbly but sticks together well if you pinch it. Wrap in saran wrap and chill for an hour before using (or you can freeze it for later use). Makes enough for 2-3 open pies, 1 large cobbler or 1 double crust pie with some extra dough leftover.

Cobbler filling:

5 pounds (yeah, pounds) mixed fruit, either fresh or frozen (if using fresh, this should be the weight of the fruit after removing any cores, peels, stones, etc)
2 cups sugar
juice of one large lemon
1/2 - 2/3 cups cornstarch
1/2 cup-ish water
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine fruit, salt and sugar in a large saucepan, and heat over medium-high heat. Mix cornstarch with enough water to make it pourable. When sugar is melted and fruit mixture starts to bubble, add in lemon and cornstarch mixture, and stir well. Continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes, or until thickened. Pour into a 13x9" baking dish. Top with pastry (I just roll out the dough to roughly fit the pan, but you could cut out rounds and place them on top of the fruit if you prefer it that way), cut a couple slits in the dough, sprinkle with more sugar (I use turbinado for this, but any kind is fine) and bake for 50-60 minutes. Should serve 8-12.

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