Little Black Dress Raspberry-Blueberry Cobblers

Everyone needs a few tricks up their sleeve, you know the kind I mean, right? Tricks that get you through the day when nothing else seems to go right. When company is arriving at the last minute or when you've gotten yourself in the doghouse with a friend. Days when you remember an hour beforehand that you promised to bring dessert to a dinner party. No need to panic. If you've prepared your pantry ahead, just reach up your culinary sleeve and pull out a trick like these delicious Raspberry-Blueberry Cobblers.

I have to be honest and add one more situation to list above, a time when one REALLY needs a trick up their sleeve. It would be one of those days when you're a blogger and the fabulous dessert that you planned to share on the blog turns out to be a huge BLOOPER!

Yep, that would be me - I had this wonderful new recipe for, well, I'm not going to tell you what it was for. I do want to share it with you soon. But not this time - because it fell upside down on the floor as I was turning it out of the pan!!

Anyway, after the blooper, I was thinking about something I could make that wouldn't take very long, wouldn't call for a long list of ingredients, wouldn't dirty many dishes or be much trouble to put together.

Ah-ha! When I realized that I've never shared with you this delicious crispy-buttery-crumb-topped fruit dessert, I knew we were both winners! Me, because I could whip this up in no time flat and you because you'll LOVE having this in your save-the-day recipe arsenal!

This is is one of, what I call, my LBD recipes – what I mean is this; like the proverbial little black dress, it’s a culinary wardrobe staple; it can be dressed up or down, can be fancy or casual, has a zillion variation possibilities and it’s always in style.

As long as you keep your pantry stocked with a can or two or your favorite pie filling, and a few other basic ingredients you can have this yummy dessert on the table in less than an hour. Add a handful of fresh or dried fruit to the filling, some nuts, coconut, toffee bits, spices, oatmeal, etc. to the crumble and you’ve pizzazzed up your little black dress.

Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream or a drizzle of sweet fresh cream. It’s a wonderful weekday family treat that can be thrown together in an everyday cake pan but I also bake it in pretty ceramic bakeware and let friends help themselves or serve to my fanciest guests layered in crystal parfait glasses. See what I mean? The sky’s the limit as far as the fun you can have with this recipe!

P.S. Oh, and if there are any leftovers, don’t be surprised if you have "middle of the night raiders" who snitch a bit here and a bit there until morning’s first light reveals merely an empty dish with slight traces of the lovely fruit filling. (I’m not saying this happens at my house) 🙂

Little Black Dress Raspberry-Blueberry Cobblers

Ingredients:1-21 ounce can pie filling, cherry, blueberry, raspberry, really any variety, I've even used lemon and added fresh blueberries and raspberries - delicious! I used Comstock Raspberry Pie Filling for my cobbler
1 stick butter, 4 ounces
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
salt, a pinch

Optional Ingredients:
1 cup fresh or frozen fruit, combine with fruit filing, I used fresh blueberries for my cobbler
½ cup nuts, chopped, combine with crumble topping ingredients
½ cup coconut, shredded, combine with crumble topping ingredients
1 cup toffee bits, combine with crumble topping ingredients
½ cup sunflower seeds, combine with crumble topping ingredients
1 teaspoon cinnamon, combine with crumble topping ingredients
½ cup oatmeal, reduce the flour in crumble ingredients and replace with the oatmeal

1. Pour pie filling into a cake pan, large glass pie pan or decorative ceramic baking dish. Alternatively divide pie filling among small ramekins, filling them half full. My ramekins are 3 ½ inches in diameter and I can make 6 cobblers from one recipe. The number will depend on the size of your ramekins.

2. Combine melted butter, flour, sugar and salt, add optional ingredients, as desired. Mix with a fork until large wet crumbs form. You can add a tiny bit of extra flour if crumbs are to wet to scatter. Scatter crumbs with your hand over the top of the fruit, breaking up any large clumps, dividing evenly if using ramekins. Bake at 350˚f on a baking sheet for 20-25 minutes or until crumbs are golden and fruit mixture is starting to bubble. Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a dollop of whipped cream or a drizzle of fresh sweet cream. Enjoy!