This mixed berry cobbler is made with your favorite berries and a lattice crust, making it the best possible combination of pie and cobbler! Make this recipe with fresh or frozen berries for a delicious year-round dessert.
Anyone who grew up in the midwest knows that summer means produce.
From corn on the cob, perfect for turning into sweet corn risotto, to juicy heirloom tomatoes for tomato bruschetta, to an abundance of cucumbers for pickled cucumbers, summer fruits and veggies are everything around here.
Berries are the first thing I get excited about when the weather turns warm. Growing up, my grandpa had a huge garden complete with massive blackberry bushes.
In fact, his garden was so prolific that multiple years in a row he accidentally grew too many blackberries. They gave pounds and pounds away, and my grandmother still had tons put up in their deep freezer.
With so many frozen blackberries in our own freezer, my mom dug into her beloved Southern Living cookbooks for some good cobbler recipes.
Since most of us don’t have pounds of free blackberries hanging around, I made a few tweaks to our family’s favorite recipe, including swapping out the blackberries for mixed berries. This mixed berry cobbler is just as delicious as the original – you’re gonna love this one.
Berry cobbler with pie crust
The type of fruit cobbler you grew up with seems to depend on where you grew up.
Some folks think of cobbler as having a biscuit topping, like in sour cherry cobbler. Others are used to a more cake-like batter, like in homemade peach cobbler.
Still others think of a pie-like crust, like in this mixed berry cobbler.
The crust for this cobbler isn’t quite as persnickety as a traditional homemade pie crust, so don’t be intimidated by this recipe. It’s a good starting place if pies freak you out but you still want to impress your friends with a lattice crust.
Even though the recipe calls for mixed berries, you can make it using just one or two types of berries instead. You can also use fresh or frozen berries, making it perfect for whipping up any time of year.
How to make my mixed berry cobbler
I know that the lattice crust makes this mixed berry cobbler look difficult, but it’s not as tricky as you’re probably thinking.
Ingredients you’ll need
For this recipe, you’ll need to throw together a pastry crust and the filling.
For the crust, you will need:
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 2/3 cup half-and-half
Shortening helps make this dough easy to work with and helps keep it tender. I know that butter crusts are all the rage, but I promise that this one is still delicious.
Half-and-half is a mixture of whole milk and cream that is sold here in the States. I use it in my homemade chicken pot pie, too.
If you don’t have access to half-and-half or don’t have any on hand, whole milk will work just fine.
For the berry filling, you will need
- 8 cups mixed berries
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 cup butter
You can easily make this cobbler with fresh or frozen mixed berries. Since they make bags of mixed frozen berries, those are an easy solution during the winter when fresh berries are out of season.
Even though cherries aren’t technically a berry, they work great in this cobbler, too. When using fresh berries, I like to leave blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries whole. Cut strawberries into halves or quarters, and pit and halve cherries.
Making this berry cobbler recipe
To make this berry cobbler, start by making the pastry.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut the shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly.
Use a fork to stir in the half-and-half until just barely combined, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough 6-8 times, until it forms a ball.
Take ⅓ of the dough (set the rest aside) and roll it out to ¼-inch thick. Cut it into strips 1 ½-inches wide.
Place the dough strips on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 425°F for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned. Set aside to cool and reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
To make the filling, combine the berries, sugar, flour, lemon juice, vanilla extract and almond extract in a large bowl. Let the mixture rest until the sugar dissolves.
Spoon half of the berry mixture into a greased 9×13-inch baking dish. Break the baked pastry strips into pieces and lay them on top of the fruit, then top with the rest of the berries. Top with the pieces of butter.
Roll the remaining pastry dough to ¼-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch-wide strips. Weave these into a lattice over the top of the filling.
If you’d like, brush the lattice with a bit more half-and-half and sprinkle with sugar before baking at 350°F for 50 minutes. The berry cobbler is done when the fruit is bubbly and the pastry is golden brown.
Serve warm, preferably with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or homemade peach ice cream.
Storage and reheating
Leftovers (if there are any) should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
My family usually reheats portions of the cobbler in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. If you want to make the berry cobbler ahead of time and warm it before serving, cover the pan with foil and place it in a warm oven for about 15 minutes.
Recipe FAQs
Mixed Berry Cobbler
Equipment
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 2/3 cup half-and-half
For the filling:
- 8 cups mixed berries fresh or frozen (see notes)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/4 cup butter cut into pieces
Instructions
Make pastry:
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly. Add the half-and-half, stirring with a fork until the mixture is just barely combined.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead 6-8 times, until dough forms a ball. Roll 1/3 of the pastry into 1/4-inch thickness and cut into strips 1 1/2-inches wide (reserve the rest of the dough). Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
Make the filling:
- Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, combine the berries, sugar, flour, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extract. Let stand until sugar dissolves. Spoon half of the mixture into a greased 13×9-inch baking dish. Break the baked pastry strips into pieces and lay on top of the fruit mixture; top with the remaining berries. Dot with the butter.
- Roll the remaining pastry dough into 1/4-inch thickness and cut into 1-inch wide strips. Weave into a lattice over the filling. If desired, brush the pastry with additional half-and-half and sprinkle with sugar.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until bubbly and golden.
Yay! Summer recipes! I love it! There is still time to maybe let’s say, call in sick and enjoy some patio/beer garden sitting!
Oh man. I wish times a million I could afford to do that!
Oooh this is the perfect dessert to close summer out with! Yum 🙂
Right? Excuse me while I go stuff my face.
I second Stefanie’s idea. Sick day/cobbler-eating-outside day!
Can we just make it standard to build in cobbler-eating days along with sick and vacation days into the normal benefits package? I bet I can make that a thing…
We’re going to have one of our hottest days tomorrow…so I’ll hold onto summer with you! This cobbler looks heavenly!
Interestingly, it just just now getting hot here, too! We have only had the air conditioner on a handful of days this summer, and most of them have been in the past week.
I agree with Stefanie: sick day for porch sittin’ and cobbler eatin’ 🙂
The recipe is awesome and your photos so delicious!