I have to confess something – I am not a baker. I LOVE to cook, but baking… I could take it or leave it. Don’t get me wrong, I love desserts. I love eating them, smelling them, thinking about them… but actually making them? Not so much. I definitely lack some patience with the process of baking.
That being said, in the spirit of personal growth I’ve been pushing myself lately to work on my baking and dessert making skills. I mean, the fact that I get to eat all of my experiments has absolutely nothing to do with my motivation… (can you catch the sarcasm?)
Cobbler is the perfect dessert for beginners. It’s very simple to make and incredibly versatile. The hubs and I love cherry pie, so I opted for a cherry cobbler but you can use whatever stone-fruit or berry you like! Peaches, nectarines, apples, apricots, strawberries, blackberries… Seriously, the possibilities are endless. Plus, the crumbly topping is very simple to throw together.
A tip for success: make sure the coconut oil and water for the topping are very cold before mixing them into the dough!
A Word on Vanilla and AIP: This is one of those nit-picky foods. Vanilla extract is made by soaking the vanilla bean in water and alcohol. So, when using extract, no seeds are actually being consumed and the alcohol is cooked off, making it elimination-phase compliant!
AIP Cherry Cobbler
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
Cherry Filling
1 TBS coconut oil or ghee
5 cups frozen cherries
½ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 TBS maple syrup
¼ cup water + 1 TBS
½ tsp arrowroot powder
Crumble Topping
½ cup cassava flour
½ cup tigernut flour
1 TBS arrowroot powder
1 ½ TBS coconut sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp salt
⅓ cup cold coconut oil
⅓ cup cold water
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Measure out 1 ½ TBS of coconut oil in a small bowl and set in the freezer to chill. Heat an additional 1 TBS of coconut oil in a small sauce pan on medium heat and add in the cherries, ¼ cup of water, vanilla, salt, and maple syrup. Bring the mixture to a boil. While waiting for the mixture to boil, mix together ½ tsp arrowroot powder and 1 TBS of water until smooth (this will help thicken the cherries). Once the cherries have come to a boil, reduce to a simmer, whisk in the arrowroot thickener, and simmer until the mixture coats the back of a spoon (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
To make the topping, combine cassava flour, tigernut flour, arrowroot powder, coconut sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl and stir together. Add in the cold coconut oil and mix together with your hands until crumbly. Lastly, add in the cold water and mix to combine.
Pour the cherry mixture in the bottom of a pie plate and spread the topping evenly over top. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
