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Southern Pecan Pie Cobbler, the Self-Saucing Way

Pecan Pie Cobbler

This is the pecan belt's best trick: butter melted in a hot dish, batter spooned on top, brown sugar and pecans scattered over, then boiling water poured straight across. Nothing gets stirred. In the oven the layers trade places, leaving a golden cake crust above a dark, gooey caramel-pecan sauce you spoon out warm. No custard, no pastry, no fuss.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 10 People
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 455
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 0.5 cup unsalted butter 1 stick, cut into pieces
  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.75 cup whole milk room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
  • 2 cups pecan halves coarsely chopped
  • 1.5 cups dark brown sugar packed
  • 1.5 cups boiling water must be at a full boil

Equipment

  • 1 9x13 inch baking dish glass or ceramic
  • 1 Medium mixing bowl
  • 1 Whisk
  • 1 kettle or small saucepan for boiling water
  • 1 liquid measuring cup heatproof, for pouring the water

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 350 F. Put the butter pieces in a 9x13 inch baking dish and slide the dish into the oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until the butter is fully melted and starting to smell nutty. Take it out and set it on a trivet. Do not tilt or swirl it.
  2. While the butter melts, whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour in the milk and vanilla and whisk just until smooth, about 30 seconds. The batter will be thick, like pancake batter.
  3. Spoon the batter in dollops evenly over the melted butter, covering as much of the surface as you can. Do not stir it in. Leave the butter visible around the edges — it will work its way up during baking.
  4. Scatter the chopped pecans evenly over the batter, then sprinkle the dark brown sugar over the pecans in an even blanket all the way to the corners. Still no stirring.
  5. Bring the water to a full rolling boil. Pour it slowly and evenly over the entire surface, moving in a back and forth pattern so no single spot gets flooded. The top will look alarming and soupy. This is correct. Do not stir.
  6. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and set to the touch and the edges are bubbling thick and dark. A few cracks on the surface are fine. If the center still jiggles like liquid under the crust, give it 5 more minutes.
  7. Rest the cobbler on a rack for 30 minutes before serving. The sauce under the crust thickens into caramel as it cools. Spoon out portions, digging down to pull up the pecan sauce from the bottom, and serve warm.

Notes

  • Serve warm with vanilla ice cream — the standard Southern way. Sweetened whipped cream or a pour of cold heavy cream also works, with hot coffee alongside.
  • Do not stir the batter into the butter, and do not stir in the boiling water. The unstirred layers are what create the sauce.
  • The water must be at a full boil. Lukewarm water will not set the caramel bottom.
  • Rest the cobbler 30 minutes. It looks soupy straight from the oven and thickens as it sits.
  • Do not overbake. Extra time evaporates the sauce and leaves it dry.
  • For a deeper molasses note, swap 2 tablespoons of the dark brown sugar for 2 tablespoons molasses.
  • Store covered at room temperature up to 2 days or refrigerate up to 4 days. Reheat portions 20 seconds in the microwave to loosen the sauce.