Master Instructions1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in work bowl of food processor. Scatter butter pieces over mixture, tossing to coat butter with dry ingredients. Cut butter into dry ingredients with five 1-second pulses. Add shortening; continue cutting in until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal, with butter bits no larger than split peas, about four more 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.
2. Pour 6 tablespoons milk into flour mixture. Mix with rubber spatula until large clumps form. Turn mixture onto work surface; lightly knead until mixture just comes together. Place dough on sheet of plastic wrap and press into either square or circle, depending on whether using square or round pan. (Can be refrigerated for up to 2 hours.)
3. Place fruit filling in 8-inch square or 9-inch round pan. Roll dough on lightly floured work surface to 10-inch square or circle. Lay dough over prepared fruit; tuck excess dough in between pan side and fruit (see figure 27). Brush dough with remaining tablespoon of milk; sprinkle biscuit topping with sugar. Cut four 2-inch air vents in dough top.
4. Bake until golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes. Serve warm.
VARIATIONS:
Plate Cake
This New England favorite is nothing more than a shortcake-topped cobbler turned upside down just before serving. The juices drip down over the biscuit, which forms a plate of sorts to hold fruit.
Follow Master Recipe for Cobbler with Rich Shortcake Topping, cooling baked cobbler on rack for 10 minutes. Run knife around edges of pan to loosen dough. Place large serving plate on top of pan and quickly invert (see figure 28). Spoon any fruit remaining in pan over shortcake. Cool 10 minutes, cut into pieces, and serve immediately.
Cobbler with Dropped Biscuit Topping
A cobbler may be topped with individual biscuits rather than a seamless shortcake topping.
Follow Master Recipe for Cobbler with Rich Shortcake Topping, increasing biscuit recipe by one half. Roll biscuit dough 3/4-inch thick and use 21/2-inch biscuit cutter to punch out dough rounds. You should be able to cut nine rounds. Top fruit filling with individual biscuits (see figure 29), which will just fit into pan. Brush with milk, sprinkle with sugar, and bake as directed.
Cobbler with Individual Biscuit Topping
Instead of rolling out the biscuit dough, pieces may be pinched off and dropped over the fruit, as with the cookie dough topping (see figure 26). The result is a rustic cobbler with fruit peeking through the biscuit topping.
Follow Master Recipe for Cobbler with Rich Shortcake Topping until dough comes together in step 2. Then pinch off walnut-sized pieces of dough and arrange them evenly over the fruit filling so that they do not touch each other. Do not brush with milk or sprinkle with sugar. Bake as directed.