Blackberry Bacon Cobbler

I think I may have been watching a bit too much Epic Meal Time when I made this!  I'd been picking blackberries during my lunch breaks, and trying to decide just what to do with them, when at the grocery store, I heard the bacon calling to me . . .

I combined my mom's cobbler recipe with that delicious mana from a pig's belly, and came up with this delightful little treat!

This requires only six ingredients:

• 3/4 cup of flour
• 2 cups of white sugar
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 3-5 cups of blackberries 
• 18-20 strips of bacon
• About a cup of brown sugar

Simple!

First off, we need some well done bacon to crumble into the topping.

Simple cook three or four strips of bacon until they are well done, and cool them on a plate with a paper towel.  When cooled, crumble or run them through a food processor.

Mix the flour and sugar in a large mixing bowl.  Soften the butter and fold it in to the dry ingredients.  Mix it well until it's lumpy, it should stick together if you squeeze it but crumble easily.  If it seems too dry add a bit of water, but be careful, just add it a teaspoon at a time.

Finally, stir in the crumbled bacon and set aside.  

I learned this from Epic Meal Time:  bacon weave!

Honestly, this whole recipe started as an excuse for me to make one of these.

On a foil lined baking sheet, lay out 7-8 strips of bacon side by side.  Along one edge, fold every other strip of bacon back a bit, and lay another strip of bacon along this edge and fold the strips back over it.  

The strips it is laying along should now alternate over-under-over-under.  From the other side of the weave, fold all the under strips back, all the way to the perpendicular bacon strip.  Lay another strip next to it, fold the strips back over, and then fold back all the new under strips.  Repeat until you've got a weave!

Another little something I learned from EMT.  Turn on your oven to 425F (about 220C).  Rub a good amount of brown sugar all over the top of the weave, and put it in the oven.  Check it every ten minutes or so, until it's started to brown nicely.

Carefully flip the weave with a pair of tongs, and add more brown sugar.  Put it back in the oven cook it longer, again checking every ten minutes or so.  Candied bacon can get overdone pretty quickly!

Next time I make this, I'm going to pour off the grease after the flip.  I think it would have been better if the bacon weave had come out a bit more crispy!

When it's finally done, place it on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the worst of the grease.

Line a small cake pan with tin foil and put the candied bacon weave crust in it.  Trip any edges that stick out (and eat them!)

Pour the berries into the pan.  It's fine if they stick out a bit over the rim, they will reduce down as they cook.

Pour the bacony topping crumble over the berries and gently pat it down.

Preheat the oven to 375F (about 190C).  Place the cobbler pan on a baking sheet to catch any drippings.  Bake it for about fifteen minutes, then check it every five until the topping is golden brown and the berry juice starts to bubble up into it.

Cut a slice and enjoy it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

The bacon made this cobbler very rich, it was delicious, but I couldn't eat more than a little at a time.  I'll definitely try it again, but as I mentioned in step five, I'm going to try and drain off the bacon grease a bit better next time!

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If you should make your own Blackberry Bacon Cobbler, or add bacon to a different, traditionally sweet dish, post some images or a link in the comments below.  I'll send you a digital patch and a 3 month pro membership!