Blackberry peach cobbler (vegan and gluten-free)

Oh, East Liberty farmers market. I love your shady location by the defunct police headquarters, your sweet Mennonite women selling goat milk, your tables of salsa and cheese and smoked salmon and hummus to taste. But you have been sadly missing berries for the last few weeks, your tables bereft of those cute little bundles of black- and blue- (and straw- and rasp-) deliciousness. Or maybe it's me? Have I been arriving too late to appreciate your bounty?

Oh, but you made up for it this week, East Liberty farmers market. I was rushing, on my way to meet friends, but I stopped by because of my love for you. And what did you have? You had blackberries. All is forgiven.

This is my first cobbler. I have never made this variation on baked fruit before, and I'm not even sure if I've eaten it. Cobblers always seem shunted to the side for the more popular pies, crisps, and crumbles. Of course, I have instituted a Pie Crust Boycott after discovering that I could have baked fruit without rolling out a temperamental gluten-free crust. Crisps, crumbles, and cobblers are all wonderful in that there is no crust. Which of course means no rolling pin. Hallelujah.

I adapted this recipe from the original by hedging on the sugar and completely re-working the crumble topping. Oh, and adding peaches. Because peaches + berries = <3.

Blackberry peach cobbler (gluten-free and vegan) (adapted from Manifest: Vegan)

Filling:

Three ripe peaches, peeled and cut into 1/2-1 inch pieces

About 1 1/2-2 cups blackberries

1/4 cup sugar

Juice of half a lemon

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Dash cinnamon

Cobbler:

1/2 cup sorghum flour

1/4 cup tapioca or potato starch

1/4 cup white rice flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

2 tablespoons sugar (preferably raw/turbinado)

1/4 cup soy-free margarine or butter, cold

1/2 cup almond milk

1/2 teaspoon salt (omit if your margarine is salted)

Crumble:

2 tablespoons sugar (preferably raw/turbinado)

3 tablespoons sorghum flour

3 tablespoons gluten-free oats

2 tablespoons soy-free margarine, cold

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a deep 9-inch pie dish, combine the fruit, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Stir well to evenly coat fruit.

In a separate medium-sized bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the cobbler and mix well. Add the cold margarine in small pieces and work into the dry ingredients using a pastry blender, fork, or your hands, until you have a crumbly texture. Add the almond milk and combine. You should have a batter with a thickness halfway between cake batter and cookie dough. Spoon this batter in large dollops over the fruit. Do not spread it out to cover evenly - each dollop will expand while baking to fill in the spaces.

Combine the sugar and sorghum flour for the crumble in a small bowl. Crumble in the margarine like you did for the cobbler, then stir in the oats. Sprinkle this crumble topping over the cobbler.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, until fruit is bubbly and topping starts to brown. Let cool somewhat before serving.