Mary Emmerling’s cherry cobbler

Happy President’s Day! Even though George Washington’s birthday isn’t until next week, I made my usual sour cherry cobblers because, after all, we have no mail today and it’s snowing. In other words, the occasion really demands a festive dessert.

This recipe showed up at our wedding almost 27 years ago when our friends the Greenes sent us Mary Emmerling’s American Country Cooking  (Clarkson Potter, 1987). I think Harry and Karen must have pictured us as even more rural than we are because the note tucked inside mentions “weddings in the pasture.” (We were beside the pasture, not in it.)

The only slight difficulty you may encounter is finding canned sour cherries (not cherry pie filling!). Stoic the Vast had to go to two supermarkets to find them. A can costs around $4, but the contents have shrunk about 2.5 ounces since the cookbook was published. The recipe calls for 17-ounce cans; mine were 14.5.

My addition through the years has been only 1/2 capful of pure almond extract sprinkled over the drained cherries. The topping bakes into one really big, crunchy sugar cookie. The only thing it needs is a scoop of good vanilla ice cream.

Cherry Cobbler

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 can pitted tart cherries, drained

1/4 teaspoon real almond extract

Heat oven to 375.º Butter a 9- or 10-inch glass pie plate.

In bowl beat butter with sugar until fluffy. Add egg and beat until light. Add flour and baking powder and stir just until mixed.

Place cherries in prepared dish and sprinkle almond extract over fruit. Spoon batter over cherries. Don’t worry if you have some gaps in your crust coverage (see image below).

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the top is browned and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm with ice cream. Serves 4 to 6 and is a lot tastier than a new mattress.