When we were in Pennsylvania back in September, we stopped at an Amish store on our way home. They had a collection of Country Wisdom Bulletins with information on everything from Herbal Teas to Sourdough starter. And since I've been enjoying my sourdough starter so much, I picked up the Sourdough Country Wisdom Bulletin. The only recipe I've made so far is the variation on their Sourdough Cherry Cobbler that you see above.
The original recipe calls for canned cherry pie filling. I have cherries in my freezer from summer, so I opted to make my own filling–cooking the cherries with a little bit of sugar and adding cornstarch to thicken. I also used whole wheat flour in place of all purpose. The other change I made is adding the chocolate (and leaving out their addition of raisins). Because, as we all know, chocolate and cherries make a wonderful couple. If you don't have sourdough starter, you could try this recipe with something else in it's place, like yogurt or sour cream. You will have to add some type of leavener, perhaps a teaspoon of baking soda or baking powder. Or, try my chocolate substitution in your favorite cobbler recipe...just substitute 1/4 cup of flour with cocoa powder.
Here's my version of the recipe:
Chocolate Cherry Sourdough Cobbler
1 can cherry pie filling (1lb. 5oz.), or use an equivalent amount of fresh cherries
1/4 cup sourdough starter
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 425º.
If using fresh cherries, cook them over medium heat with a sprinkling of sugar over the top (use more or less sugar depending on how sweet you want the cherries to be). Mix together 1 tsp. of cornstarch and enough water to dissolve it in. Add this to the cherry mixture and bring to a boil.
Grease an 8-inch pie plate or cake pan. Put in the cherry filling.
Sift together the dry ingredients and cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in the sourdough starter and chocolate chips. Mix thoroughly but lightly. Spoon the mixture over the top of the cherry filling, working in circles from the outer edge of the pan.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and the cherry filling is bubbling up through the center.
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