Apricot Blueberry Cornbread Cobbler

When I announced this month’s Kitchen Bootcamp challenge, I had great plans of making a cobbler… A “real” cobbler with a biscuit crust, that is. It didn’t exactly happen, though.

Here’s the thing… I seem to have something about biscuits.  Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love to eat them. I don’t feel quite the same about making them myself, though. They certainly aren’t difficult to make… I make lots of far more difficult things on a fairly regular basis.  I think it has something to do with the whole cutting butter into flour thing. I consider it to be a hassle. I admit it.

So, while I’d love to tell you that I had this great inspiration to pair cornbread with apricots and blueberries (though the combination does work beautifully), I will be completely honest and tell you that my true inspiration came from the fact that I could make cornbread without dealing with the butter situation. I am keeping it real today.

That said, I did really enjoy the combination of flavors in this cornbread version of a cobbler. It wasn’t too sweet and was somewhat reminiscent of one of my summertime favorites – blueberry cornbread muffins. I intended for this dish to be a dessert, and the hubby and I both enjoyed it warm from the oven with a scoop of ice cream.  But, for the sake of keeping it real, I will also tell you that it was delicious for breakfast the next morning with a dollop of yogurt.

Blueberry Apricot Cornbread Cobbler
Makes one 8 by 8-inch dish, serves 8

For the filling:

• 2 1/2 cups pitted and chopped apricots
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour

For the cornbread crust:

• 1 cup corn meal
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
  (I used 1%)
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
  (again, I used 1%)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 egg

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly grease an 8 by 8-inch baking dish (or a 9-inch pie dish would work well, too).

In a mixing bowl, toss together all of the ingredients for the filling – apricots, blueberries, brown sugar, and flour.  Stir to evenly combine, and then transfer to the prepared baking dish.

To prepare the cornbread crust, whisk together the corn meal, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl (or liquid measuring cup, which is my preference), whisk together the milk, yogurt, olive oil, and egg.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and fold with a spatula until the mixture just comes together and the dry ingredients are incorporated.

Spoon the cornbread crust on top of the fruit filling.  Bake for about 30 – 35 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the cornbread topping is golden. Serve warm from the oven (or store in the refrigerator for a day or two).