Berries, Berries, Berries

In "the olden days" my school would dismiss mid-April so that the children could help with the crops--hoeing cotton, gathering tomatoes for the market. Not only was school out, but the berries were beginning to ripen. First, we had dewberries. There were bigger, sweeter than the mixed berries and blackberries that followed later in the spring. We picked and ate and took them home and washed them and ate them with milk, made cobblers, and jelly. (The blackberries made the best jam.) Sometimes Dad would come in from the farm with his hat full of berries--always enough for the cobbler. Mother had a special pan for that treat. I still have it--a little enamel off here and there, but it serves the that purpose.

BERRY COBBLER

Pastry for a 9-inch double-crust
l cup sugar + 2 tablespoons for topping
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 -5 cups fresh berries
4 tablespoons butter, chopped into small pieces

Heat oven to 350 F.

Roll out 1/2 the dough and line a 9" X 9" X 2" baking dish with it. Place a square of parchment paper cut to fit onto the dough. Blind bake the crust for about 8 minutes so that the bottom crust will not be soggy.
Turn oven up to 450 F.
Mix the flour and sugar thoroughly. Put berries on the blind baked crust. Add sugar/flour mixture and 3 tablespoons of the pieces of butter. Sprinkle about 4 tablespoons of water over the mixture.

Roll out other 1/2 of dough and place on top of berries folding the overlap under the bottom crust and pinch together so that the juice will remain inside the crust.* Make slits in the top crust to allow the steam to escape. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar and place remainder of butter on the top.
Bake for 10 minutes at the higher temperature; then, reduce heat to 350 F and bake for 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Cool a little if you possibly wait. Then, enjoy.

*To duplicate the cobbler below, roll out dough for top, cut into strips and weave over the top.
(Rachel can tell you how to do that.)