This site is an archive of ChiotsRun.com. For the latest information about Susy and her adventrures, visit the Cultivate Simple site.
Thank you for all your support over the years!

Baking Up Some Winter Comfort

February 3rd, 2010

pan⋅dow⋅dy (noun) – sliced fruit baked with sugar and spices in a deep dish, with a thick top crust.

A couple weeks ago I got Rustic Fruit Desserts: Crumbles, Buckles, Cobblers, Pandowdies, and More from the library. It’s such a great little book, all the recipes sound wonderful! I’m a big fan of desserts that contain fruit, so this cookbook is right up my alley.

Since my freezer is filled with blueberries, blackberries and wild black raspberries, we really enjoy baking them into lovely cobblers in the winter for light dinners or afternoon snacks. A cup of coffee and a serving of gingered apple and cranberry pandowdy* is all you need on a cold winter evening. I’ll definitely be baking more wonderful things from this cookbook! I have some black raspberries that are begging to be baked into something wonderful.

What’s your favorite kind of dessert: tangy fruit, rich chocolate, sugary sweet…?

*The actual recipe in the cookbook is for gingered pear and raspberry pandowdy, but I had some apples and cranberries that were begging to be used up.

22 Comments to “Baking Up Some Winter Comfort”
  1. Melissa on February 3, 2010 at 8:45 am

    I love apple pie and apple cobbler and apple cake… pretty much any apple desert! We eat alot of muffins around here, too. I find they’re the easiest breakfast (when I bake them the night before) to grab during our morning rush. I’ll have to give the pandowdy a try!
    .-= Melissa´s last blog ..Homemade Cinnamon Raisin Bread, and Butter =-.

    Reply to Melissa's comment

    • Susy on February 3, 2010 at 3:08 pm

      That’s the way Mr Chiots is – anything apple.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  2. Christine on February 3, 2010 at 9:08 am

    Mmmm… I love ice cream, and cold pie.
    .-= Christine´s last blog ..‘Coon in the garden =-.

    Reply to Christine's comment

  3. kitsapFG on February 3, 2010 at 9:59 am

    Ice cream or cinnamon rolls are definitely my two favorite sweets. However, after that … we love pies … all kinds. Blueberry, cherry, rhubarb, strawberry, apple, and pumpkin – just to name a few.

    Reply to kitsapFG's comment

  4. Sara on February 3, 2010 at 10:25 am

    I got this from the library a few weeks ago as well (just had to return it). It’s really nice; I am thinking of buying it as it’s actually a nice compact little volume that I feel I am likely to use–delicious fruit mixed with the comforting filling bread-based crusts. I didn’t get a chance to try any recipes.

    I love rhubarb crisp…I guess it’s the mixture of tart and sweet (and copious brown sugar and butter in the crust).
    .-= Sara´s last blog ..Provence Baby Cardigan =-.

    Reply to Sara's comment

    • Susy on February 3, 2010 at 3:09 pm

      I do like the small size of this book as well, and all the photos to go with the recipes.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  5. Jennifer on February 3, 2010 at 10:58 am

    Looks delicious! That is definitely my kind of dessert.
    .-= Jennifer´s last blog ..Recipe Monday – Ooey Gooey =-.

    Reply to Jennifer's comment

  6. Michelle on February 3, 2010 at 11:09 am

    I am a danish kind of gal…with butter…! And a tall glass of milk…
    .-= Michelle´s last blog ..I just got home from school… =-.

    Reply to Michelle's comment

  7. risa b on February 3, 2010 at 11:48 am

    We have about ten pie plants, and are all about rhubarb crisp.

    What a marvelous photo!
    .-= risa b´s last blog ..Got that covered =-.

    Reply to risa b's comment

  8. Lona on February 3, 2010 at 1:08 pm

    Oh, boy! You really know how to get the old
    juice buds a going. LOL! It looks so yummy.
    .-= Lona´s last blog ..A Little Rain Must Fall =-.

    Reply to Lona's comment

  9. stefaneener on February 3, 2010 at 3:46 pm

    I read that book. Some sounded pretty yummy. Cook’s Illustrated has some tooth-achingly detailed discussions of cobbler/crisp toppings.
    .-= stefaneener´s last blog ..About the Eggs =-.

    Reply to stefaneener's comment

    • Susy on February 3, 2010 at 5:03 pm

      I’m more of a lightly sweetened biscuit type topping like this one for my cobblers. I’m not a big fan of the oat/nut crumbly topping that often grace the tops of crisps.

      Whatever it is I’m making I find myself always adding some crystallized ginger to the topping. It pairs well with all fruits.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  10. Ria on February 3, 2010 at 4:13 pm

    I’m a sucker for chocolates and sweets, but I’m trying to include more fruit in my diet, so fruity desserts are starting to be made more often. Even if they do end up having plenty of sugar added to them, I at least get some fibre from the fruit instead of just sweetness and empty calories.
    .-= Ria´s last blog ..Good news! =-.

    Reply to Ria's comment

  11. deedee on February 3, 2010 at 10:37 pm

    mmm. looks good :) apples and cranberries sound delightful together! i might put this on my list for this weekend if we end up being snowed in.

    Reply to deedee's comment

  12. MAYBELLINE on February 3, 2010 at 11:32 pm

    Tangy fruit
    .-= MAYBELLINE´s last blog ..Road Trip Part I – Santa Anita =-.

    Reply to MAYBELLINE's comment

  13. Lisa@The Cutting Edge of Ordinary on February 4, 2010 at 8:05 am

    I just got that book in the mail yesterday! How funny. I also wanted to let you know I got my moo cards in too, and low and behold there were made right here in RI where I am. I can’t tell you how much I love them. I went with a pre-made design this time, but the next batch will be my own photos.
    .-= Lisa@The Cutting Edge of Ordinary´s last blog ..Quick Whole Wheat and Molasses Bread =-.

    Reply to Lisa@The Cutting Edge of Ordinary's comment

  14. tigress on February 4, 2010 at 8:22 am

    i have and love this book. i actually don’t bake a lot of desserts because my husband is not a big sweet eater and i end up eating most or all of it when i do! ;) my favorite types of desserts are baked and fruit filled, hence a friend gave me this book as a gift.

    i have a ton of strawberries in my freezer and you’ve just inspired me to get in there and bake something!
    .-= tigress´s last blog ..roast the toast: marmalade thumbprints =-.

    Reply to tigress's comment

  15. rcakewalk on February 4, 2010 at 7:35 pm

    I’m going to have to bake a skillet fruit dessert when you have a photo like that to envy! I have to wait until my current dessert is gone, but it will happen. My Mom has a love of the word Pandowdy, so maybe I’ll have to make one of those for her! I have a lot of frozen rhubarb to use, so I’m thinking I may lean in that direction…since I fear that I may be allergic to raspberries.

    Reply to rcakewalk's comment

  16. andrea on February 12, 2010 at 12:45 pm

    my favorite fruit cobbler recipe is from “New Recipes from Moosewood Restaraunt” it has more of a yellow cake type topping and my favorite fruit combo so far has been peaches and blueberries……….come on summer!

    Reply to andrea's comment

  17. Sue: Farm-Woman-In-Training on February 28, 2010 at 5:22 pm

    Susy wrote … “I’m not a big fan of the oat/nut crumbly topping that often grace the tops of crisps. ”

    I am a HUGE fan of the oat/nut crumbly topping of crisps! Specially when the fruit below has a lot of the sour/tang flavours to it, rhubarb and sour cherries being my faves, mixed with saskatoons of course! However, a cinnamony-apple crisp spells one of my absolute comfort foods with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

    We did find this recipe a couple years ago that is more of the biscuit/cake variety. [http://www.cowboycountrytv.com/recipes/saskatoonpudding.html] It is far too sweet as is so we don’t put any sugar in with the fruit and cut the topping sugar to 1/4 cup. I was very skeptical, I’d never heard of pouring boiling water over a fruit and biscuit based dessert but it is very good and super simple!

    Reply to Sue: Farm-Woman-In-Training's comment

    • Susy on February 28, 2010 at 5:34 pm

      I like the nuts, it’s the oats I’m not a huge fan of.

      Reply to Susy's comment

  18. Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets on February 28, 2010 at 11:43 pm

    I just bought this book and had picked this recipe as the first to try. Thanks for posting about this, so that we know it’s a winner.
    .-= Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets´s last blog ..Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits =-.

    Reply to Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets's comment

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

Admin
Read previous post:
Brushing Up my Sugaring Skills

Sugaring season will be here soon. I decided to get a book from the library to read a little more...

Close