A Taste of Yachats: Marionberry Cobbler à la Mode

I can’t think of Yachats without thinking of our dear heartdog Lil. Somehow, the two have become part of the same memory.

We miss her terribly, but I can’t picture our walks along the Oregon coast without remembering that glorious Chow meandering beside us, taking in the world at her own unhurried pace. And, apparently, keeping an eye out for snack opportunities.

Lil, the Blackberry Hunter

Lil had her own method of harvesting wild blackberries. On our nature walks around Yachats—and at home, too—she would casually wander toward a blackberry thicket while on leash. With that enormous Chow coat, we sometimes wouldn’t realize what she was doing until it was too late. She wasn’t just wandering. She was picking berries.

Somehow Lil knew exactly where to find the perfectly ripe ones on the lower branches. She’d delicately pluck off the best berries and leave the rest behind.

In her later years, Lil enjoyed our walks from the comfort of her stroller, taking in all the familiar sights and smells along the trail. But apparently retirement did not include blackberry season.

The moment she sensed a good patch nearby, she’d let us know she wanted out. Down she’d come from her stroller, back on leash and straight to the brambles to “help” us pick. There was just one flaw in her harvesting technique.

That magnificent amber Chow coat stuck to blackberry brambles like Velcro. Berry picking usually ended with Lil happily eating her prize while I carefully teased her coat free, one thorny branch at a time.

Blackberry Season in Oregon

My good friend Christine has a special name for our wild blackberries: DBBs—Damn Black Berries. If you’ve ever lived with them in the Pacific Northwest, you understand. They are both wonderful and wicked—producing buckets of gorgeous fruit while attempting to take over the yard, the fence, the path and possibly the entire state of Oregon.

“Wild blackberries: part Oregon treasure, part contact sport“

Christine is valiantly battling them on her beautiful property, where everything grows with tremendous enthusiasm. The DBBs will never win if she has her way!! But oh my, she has the battle scars to prove the fight.

Late summer blackberry picking is one of those simple Oregon pleasures we never tire of. We’ll take a container along on a walk and come home with sun-warmed berries destined for jam, cobbler—or eaten by the handful before they ever reach the kitchen.

For this cobbler, I especially love Marionberries, Oregon’s celebrated blackberry. Developed through a USDA breeding program in cooperation with Oregon State University , they’re prized for their rich, sweet-tart flavor.

But please don’t let the lack of Marionberries stop you….any good blackberry will make a beautiful cobbler. Fresh wild or cultivated berries are wonderful, and frozen berries work beautifully too.

If using frozen, add them straight from the freezer without thawing first to help retain their texture as the cobbler bakes. There’s something very satisfying about coming home with purple fingers and a container of berries you picked yourself. Lil would certainly have approved.

The Cobbler That Keeps Us Drifting In

There’s another reason cobbler belonged on my Yachats recipe card. The Drift Inn located on HWY 101 .

We’ve had what may very well be the best Marionberry cobbler of our lives there. It arrives warm in its own individual dish, à la mode—the perfect combination of bubbling berries, tender cobbler and cold vanilla ice cream melting into all the little nooks and crannies.

A Little Farther Up Scenic Hwy 101 …..Tillamook Creamery

And of course we need the ice cream. About 75 miles north of Yachats is Tillamook, a coastal dairy town whose name has become familiar far beyond Oregon. What was once very much a local favorite is now widely available throughout the USA for its cheese, butter and wonderfully rich ice cream.

There was never much question about what belonged on top of our warm Oregon Marionberry cobbler. A slowly melting scoop of TILLAMOOK old fashioned vanilla ice cream.

Every time I look at the finished recipe card, I smile at Lil resting above the ocean with the blackberries growing nearby. Knowing her, though, I probably should have drawn fewer berries on the bramble. She would have already eaten the ripe ones

YACHATS MARIONBERRY COBBLER

Sandra Miller

My version is intentionally simple—the sort of dessert you can put together after a day spent walking coastal trails or picking berries. Marionberries are tossed with lemon and just a whisper of ginger. Vanilla and brown sugar add warmth and caramel flavor to the cobbler, while a sprinkle of coarse sugar gives the top a little crunch. No fancy presentation required. Just cobbler, ice cream and, preferably somewhere nearby, the sound of the Pacific.

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 55 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 6 6-8

Ingredients

  

Berry layer

• – 4 cups fresh Marionberries
• or blackberries — frozen work beautifully too
• – ¼ cup granulated sugar
• – 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• – 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• – ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• – Pinch of salt

Cobbler

• – 1 cup all-purpose flour
• – 2 teaspoons baking powder
• – ¼ teaspoon salt
• – ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• – ¾ cup whole milk
• – 6 tablespoons butter melted
• – 1 teaspoon vanilla

For serving

• – Tillamook Old-Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream

Instructions

 

• Heat oven to 350°F and lightly butter an 8- or 9-inch square baking dish.
• Gently toss the Marionberries with the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, ginger and salt.
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and brown sugar. Stir in milk, melted butter and vanilla just until smooth. Spread the batter into the baking dish and spoon the berries and their juices evenly over the top. Don’t stir them in.
• Bake about 45–55 minutes, until bubbling around the edges and deeply golden on top. Let it rest 10–15 minutes, then serve warm with a generous scoop of Tillamook vanilla icecream.

Notes

For a special Drift Inn style finishing touch…..Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of coarse sugar over the batter just before baking. You’d get little sparkling, slightly crunchy patches against that soft cobbler. That’s especially nice when the vanilla ice cream starts melting into it.

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FRUIT SUBSTITUTIONS  

This cobbler method is best with soft, juicy fruit that can cook in roughly the same time as the batter. Peaches would be excellent, fresh or frozen.

Good substitutions would include peaches, nectarines, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, strawberries, plums, or combinations such as peach-blackberry or blueberry-peach.

 

• Peaches/nectarines: Excellent. Slice fairly thin. Frozen can go in without thawing.
• Blueberries: Excellent and probably the easiest direct substitution.
• Raspberries: Delicious, although softer and juicier; especially nice mixed with blackberries.
• Cherries: Very good. Halved pitted cherries should cook nicely in that time.
• Plums: Excellent—I’d slice them rather than use large chunks.
• Strawberries: They’ll work, but I’d quarter large ones. They can release quite a lot of liquid.

Keyword blackberry, cobbler

FOLLOW LIL

She will guide you down the blackberry trail to pick your Yachats Marionberry Cobbler recipe card or other keepsake!

Explore the collection inspired by this illustration in the Dog in the Kitchen™ store.!!

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