Cherry Chia Cobbler

Don’t you just love desserts that can be put together in about 5 minutes?  Cobblers and crisps come together so quickly and easily,  yet are so warm and comforting. It is a perfect week night dessert or snack.  In fact, with only a little added sugar and butter, this delicious healthy cobbler could even pass for breakfast.

Speaking of healthy, this cobbler recipe contains chia seeds.  They are nutritional powerhouses and make a terrific thickener.  In this recipe they are used in place of flour, cornstarch or tapioca to absorb the liquid being released from the fruit. Chia seeds are a very good source of fibre, protein, important omega fatty acids, and essential minerals. The mild nutty flavour of these little tiny seeds makes it easy to add them to many dishes.  My daughter calls them “sprinkles”.

This recipe can easily be made with other fruit in endless delicious combinations.  It is so versatile it can be made with fresh, frozen, or canned fruit.  Try apple peach, blueberry rhubarb, or blackberry pear.

Cherry Chia Cobbler

600 grams dark sweet cherries, frozen

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons chia seeds

Biscuit topping

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup cornmeal

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter or coconut oil

1/2 cup well shaken low fat buttermilk

Directions:  Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss cherries, lemon juice, and chia seeds in an oven proof dish.

Prepare biscuit topping.  Stir flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt together in a medium size bowl.  Rub in butter or coconut oil.  Add buttermilk and mix until dough just comes together.  Drop spoon size pieces of dough on top of the cherries with gaps in between (the fruit with bubbly up in between the biscuits). Sprinkle biscuits with a little additional sugar if desired.

Bake until the biscuit tops are golden and the fruit is soft and bubbly, about 25 to 30 minutes.