Rhubarb-Strawberry Cobbler

This cobbler is the recipe to make when strawberries and rhubarb overlap in late spring. Tart rhubarb and sweet strawberries get tossed with sugar, cinnamon, and orange zest, then baked briefly before fluffy buttermilk biscuit dough gets dropped on top in rough mounds. The fruit bubbles up around the edges while the biscuits bake golden and risen.

Pre-baking the fruit for 10 minutes before adding the topping is a smart move. It gets the filling hot and bubbling so the biscuit dough starts cooking from the bottom immediately. Skip this step and you risk raw, doughy undersides on your biscuits while the tops brown.

The buttermilk biscuit topping uses the cut-in-fat method, working cold margarine into the dry ingredients until it resembles small peas. That cold fat creates steam pockets as it melts in the oven, which is what makes the biscuits rise into light, flaky mounds instead of dense lumps.

Pro Tips

• Chop the rhubarb into even pieces so it cooks uniformly. Big chunks stay firm while small bits dissolve into mush.
• Keep the margarine cold until the moment you cut it in. Warm fat means flat, dense biscuits.
• Drop the biscuit dough in rough, uneven mounds. Don’t smooth or shape them. Craggy tops brown better and look more rustic.
• Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. This is best eaten the day it’s baked.

Variations

• Use all rhubarb and skip the strawberries for a more tart, pucker-worthy cobbler.
• Add a pinch of ground ginger to the filling alongside the cinnamon for extra warmth.
• Sprinkle coarse sugar over the biscuit tops before baking for a sparkly, crunchy crust.