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It’s August and the smell of sticky sweet, nearly rancid blackberries permeates the air. It’s a smell I associate with the end of summer, but not quite fall. Time for one last adventure, time for few more late nights on the sun porch sipping coffee, and time for berry picking.

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The boy and I headed out to our one of our favorite berry patches today, only to find most of the large Himalaya Giants far out of reach or picked over. However with a view like this, hunting for berries is hardly work! While the berries were thin, the spiders weren’t. Oh my, adolescent Orb Weavers. I try not to shudder. My child, completely oblivious charged right in only to be met with thorns. I have to admit, that all those wee beasties did me in a bit.

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The other variety that grows with abandon out here on the edge of the world is the Evergreen Thornless. It won’t fruit until after labor day and has a completely different flavor than the Himalayas most of us know as blackberries. They are smaller and more work to pick, but with a flavor that is out of this world and no thorns… oh so worth it! However, I tend to forget about them, because August is blackberry month and by September I’ve moved on to apples.

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And would it be too much of a stretch for a segue to say “speaking of moving on”? Because, while this photo is a wee bit blurry, I love the fact it catches my very busy boy in MOTION. He’s moving, and moving on, on so many levels. We see less and less of him (don’t pity me, he’s a homeschooled child and we spend PLENTY of time together still!) and I’m steeling myself for the inevitable. He steals his mother’s heart every time he suggests that college could be right around the corner if he continues at his pace. I tease and suggest I should flunk him a few grades, just to keep him here. However, when given the option to go berry picking with his mother, he jumped. There is at least that.

Moving on… I adore the photo as well because that t-shirt of his is actually black but looks the color of blackberry juice. The light caught him and his shirt just so… and that makes me happy. There are those moments where grace reaches out and touches you—sometimes you find yourself blessed to capture that moment for posterity.

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It wouldn’t be summer without blackberries nor August without berry picking. All this means it’s also time for Cobbler. Below the jump is my grandmother’s recipe for Blackberry Cobbler. Everyone will tell you their grandmother’s cobbler is the best, but that’s just because they’ve never had MY grandmother’s cobbler.

The last time we ate cobbler together was at my graduation from SPU—I was whipping up a batch (using frozen berries, shhh, don’t tell!) and I hollered into the living room, “Hey Gram, what are the proportions again?” Every woman from my family shouted back, “1+1+1+1”. How could I forget that!

“And 2 tsps. of baking powder, not soda” my grandmother added. It’s really not much more than that and blackberries. It’s not low-fat; nothing in Southern cooking is, or should be for that matter. When you’re plopping that stick of butter into the baking dish, thinking about your arteries and cholesterol, just remember this, the recipe could have called for Lard!

Best Blackberry Cobbler on the Planet—Don’t You Be Sayin’ Any Different

1 Stick of Butter (we use salted, and it does make a difference. But you don’t have to!)
1 Cup of Flour

1 Cup of Sugar

1 Cup of Milk

2 tsp. Baking Powder

4-5 cups of Blackberries

Preheat oven at 350. Put stick of butter in a 9×13 baking pan. Place dish in oven as it’s preheating to melt butter. Don’t forget it, because you know you do! Tsk Tsk!

Meanwhile, whisk together flour, sugar, and BP. Once butter is melted, add milk to the dry ingredients and pour over the melted butter. DO NOT MIX. You’ll want to. Resist.

Dump berries evenly-ish over the batter. Still don’t mix! Sheesh, you people are compulsive. Place in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve warm… ala mode if you’re so inclined. I have no idea how this cobbler tastes cold or day old because it never lasts that long at our house.

Enjoy, and as usual… if you try this, come back and tell me! M’kay?