It’s that time of year when I do that deep-freeze clean out thing. It’s kind of fun finding a way to use all the stuff I haven’t gotten to yet.
My personality is such that I like to have a plan for all food I bring into the house. My plan for these cherries was to use them in smoothies or make a banana-cherry ‘healthy’ ice cream. You know, when you take frozen bananas and cherries, throw them in the ol’ food processor and give them a whirl? Clearly that didn’t happen.
So, on this particular day I decided to go for cobbler. I grew up on fruit crisps. My Grandma Ruth made them for almost every special occasion. And, honestly, I don’t think I’d ever made a cobbler before I gave this a go.
I started out with a massive bag of blueberries. I made a couple of cobblers with those, and then when they ran out I tried the same recipe (with a few tweaks) using cherries. This cherry cobbler is so homey yet so decadent. Cherries are luscious ~ they are juicy and full of flavor. I don’t often bake with cherries – I reach for something more common like apples, blueberries or even strawberries. But, lordy. The cherries. They’re at the top of my list.
Let’s chat about the cobbler. And I’m gonna’ be honest at the risk of stepping on some toes. I’ve never loved anything baked with straight almond or coconut flour. It has a dense, heavy eggy consistency. And most of the time, the cookies and cake have a strange textural similarity. It’s just not they way I want to spend my calories. I learned from Kelly Brozyna that you can lighten them up with another gluten-free flour. And then, holy cow. Baked goods taste like they should.
Some of y’all will ask about the essential oil – I was opposed to using them in cooking and baking because it seemed counter to what I’d learned about baking and cooking. Then I tried them. Oh my gosh! The oils give my food a crazy pop of flavor I can’t get from spices and herbs alone. I love using them in my cooking and for so many other things! I can’t imagine life without them now.
So, I think y’all should mosey on out to your freezer and see what you can whip up. It doesn’t have to be dessert – we’ve had a lot of creative meals around here lately. Grab some ingredients and get busy in the kitchen.
Yields 4
Gluten-free, refined sugar-free cherry cobbler. The cherries are over the top.
15 minPrep Time
25 minCook Time
40 minTotal Time
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Ingredients
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca flour or a scant 1/4 cup arrowroot flour
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon guar gum (optional)
- 1/4 cup cold butter (for dairy-free, I use Earth Balance)
- 1/4 cup milk (for dairy-free, I use SoDelicious Unsweetened Coconut Beverage)
- 1 egg
- 1 - 2 drops Cinnamon Bark Young Living Vitality Dietary Essential Oil !For the cherry filling:
- 6 - 8 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened cherries, pitted
- 2 - 4 tablespoons honey
- zest of one lemon
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, preferably non-GMO
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Whisk together the almond flour, tapioca flour or arrowroot flour, coconut flour, coconut palm sugar, baking powder, sea salt and optional guar gum. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. set aside.
- Put the cherries in a large saucepan. Add two tablespoons of honey, lemon zest and cornstarch. Heat over medium until cherries begin to release their juices, stirring occasionally. Continue to cook until the sauce has thickened and is bubbly. Taste and add more honey if desired.
- Whisk the milk and egg together. Stir into the flour mixture. Add a drop of Cinnamon Bark Young Living Vitality Dietary Essential Oil for an extra punch of flavor.
- Put the cherry filling into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with the cobbler mixture, spreading evenly over the cherries.
- Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until the topping is baked through and just starting to brown.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm with ice cream if desired.
Notes
The guar gum is optional. It gives the finished cobbler a little more 'spring' and a more traditional cake texture.
If you’re interested in learning more about Young Living Essential Oils or want to become part of my team, please let me know! I’d love to chat with you. You can contact me at amy (at) amygreen (dot) me and check out my essential oil page here.
