Cobbler is one of my favorite desserts.  I can assemble it ahead of time and keep it wrapped in the fridge.  Then when guests arrive for dinner, I pop it in the oven. The cobbler fills the house with delicious aromas as it cooks while we're having dinner, and voila, a warm gooey treat is ready just in time for dessert.  This is a version of Ellie Krieger's cobber, and I'm saving a few steps by using Trader Joe's multigrain pancake mix.

I like making this cobbler for friends who don't have much of a sweet tooth.  It's relatively healthy as far as desserts go, not too sweet, so I tend to eat big bowls of this cobbler, unlike powerfully sweet desserts that I can only eat a couple of bites of before handing my plate to my sugar-craving husband. 

You can make this cobbler year-round with frozen berries, and I certainly do, but you can also use fresh berries if you have them.  We are almost into blackberry-picking season here in San Francisco, so we will soon be biking into the hills to pick wild blackberries.  Last year, it was a real struggle to keep up with how quickly our kids ate the berries.  I hope we have enough leftover to make a cobbler!

Berry Fruity Cobbler

Filling:
2 (16-oz) bags frozen mixed berries, or 8 cups fresh berries
1/4 cup flour or whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp fresh orange zest, optional

Crust topping:
1 cup Multigrain Pancake & Baking Mix
3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp sugar, divided
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup buttermilk (you can make your own by mixing 1 tsp vinegar into milk)
3 Tbsp canola oil or grapeseed oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Lightly grease or spray an 8"x10" baking pan.
2. Mix all the ingredients for the filling.  Toss lightly until berries are coated.  Pour into the baking dish.
3. Combine pancake mix, 3 Tbsp sugar, and salt.  Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut butter into the pancake mixture until the mixture resembles small pebbles.  You can also use your hands if you work quickly; you don't want the butter to get soft and mushy.
4. Pour in buttermilk and oil.  Stir until just mixed.  Do not over-mix or you'll end up with a tough crust.  Drop by rounded spoonfuls on top of the berry filling.  Go for a rustic look - just drop the dough in mounds to cover the filling evenly.
5. Bake for 30 minutes until crust is golden.  Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.