Cherry Cobbler In A Jar

**This post originally appeared on my other blog, YinMomYangMom.com.**

Hey, go grab your sunglasses and your purse, I’m gonna take you for a little ride today! That’s right, just hop up on this here bandwagon, don’t worry I’ll give you a boost…

Ya, we are a little late to the party, but no worries!  Food in a jar is cool like that.  I gave it a headsup and it said it’d wait for us…

Just in case you missed it, here is a food-nerd’s guide to why we should all be making food in jars (in outline form!):

I.  Mason jars as perfect serveware
—A.  Sized for individual portions
—B.  Lidded
——-1.  for spill-proof transport
——-2.  so you can save some for later
—C.  Heat Proof (and freezer safe!)
——-1.  you can bake right in them
——-2.  you can pop them in the microwave to reheat later
—D.  They are so freakin’ cute.

The first thing you are going to need is some half-pint jars.  If you are the awesome-, green-, eco- type, then I’m sure you already have some recycled ones in your cupboard, or if you are the I-got-so-sick-of-all-the-clutter, and went-on-a-trashing rampage-type (hi, that’s me) then you will need to buy some (don’t worry, they’re cheap).  Here’s what I’m using:

…and you can get some for yourself at my amazon shop.  We are going to make cherry cobbler in these, and once that has disappeared down the gullets of your hungry family, I have lots of other uses for those cute little jars at the end of this post.

Cherries!  They might be my all-time favorite fruit.  I don’t know if it’s that dark, sweet, musky flavor, the jewel-like juiciness, or the fact that they are so elusive for most of the year, but I could (and often do!) eat them by the pound, for reals.

I resisted for a long time, but I’ve finally invested in a cherry pitter and I’m not the least bit sorry.  It can be used for olives too, and it makes it easier for my little ones to enjoy summer cherries as much as I do.

Pitting the cherries is probably the hardest thing (not hard at all, just a little time-consuming) about this recipe, but after a while it became sorta meditative for me…

We make a compote with the fruit, just like in my “When Life Gives You Blueberries” post.  Toss 6 cups of pitted cherries with:

1/3 cup of sugar
3 tablespoons of cornstarch
the juice of half a lemon
and 1 teaspoon of almond extract

and cook them in a pot, over a medium-low flame, for 10 minutes.  The juices will run out and thicken, but a lot of the fruit will remain whole and chunky.

Spoon it equally into four jars.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and now we are moving on to the cobbler topping.  When I first had the idea, I thought I would do a crisp, but when I saw this recipe from Brown Eyed Baker, I just had to give it a try…

I modified it a little bit, to make it more cherry-friendly, and also I don’t keep buttermilk on hand, so I soured my regular milk with a little lemon juice for a decent substitution.

In a bowl, combine:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a liquid measuring cup, combine:

the juice of half a lemon
1/3 cup milk
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Dump the liquid ingredients into the dry and mix with a fork until combined (but don’t overdo it!).  Drop it by tablespoonfuls onto the cherry compote, and top with slivered almonds and cinnamon sugar.

Bake it for 15 minutes.

This was a big hit with (almost) my whole family (the three-year-old is a mystery to me…)

…but especially Mr. Allie, because he loves biscuits, and that’s just what the topping tastes like…

…with a little extra sumpin’ from the cinnamon sugar, and nutty crunch from the toasty almonds…

…and for me, it’s all about those sweet summer cherries… heaven!  in a jar! 

Here’s your printable:  Cherry Cobbler Recipe Card

Now, I promised you some more “in-a-jar” recipe ideas and that is just what you’re gonna get.

Check out my “food in jars” pinterest board for some creative ideas and beautiful photos.  I curated this collection myself, no repins, so each pin will link you right to the original recipe post with no bugs (hate that!).

And if that’s not enough for ya, we have some other great recipes right here on YinMom YangMom, that are perfectly suited for the “in-a-jar” application:

Mere’s Watermelon Lime Mint Cooler aka Happy Juice

Goat Cheese Cheesecake Cups with Blueberry Compote

 Salted Caramel (with instructions for sauce or candies)

 Candied Walnuts (from my Beet Salad recipe.  Actually, you could do the whole salad!)

Vanilla Sugar

Hope you enjoyed the ride!  Leave me a comment to let me know, and let’s hear about your favorite food in a jar!