A Cuppa Comfort

When I feel bad I crave fruity things. When it’s a dark and stormy night I crave hot comfort food. Tonight is one of those nights when it all comes together. It’s dark and stormy and I have felt much better, so I made Mom’s Fruit Pie.

About 40 years ago my aunt Joyce McCormick made a dessert for a family gathering that I just fell in love with. It was gooey, chewy, fruity, and I thought I had found my forever-favorite dessert. (This was before I discovered New York style cheesecake.) When I asked Joyce what the heavenly confection was, she said, “That’s just Mom’s fruit pie.”

Joyce gave me a copy of the recipe, and it was, sure enough, titled Mom’s Fruit Pie. I just wish I had thought to ask her if that is the actual name or if it was her mother’s recipe. I fantasize that it’s a family recipe handed down from my grandmother to my aunt and then to me, but a fantasy may be all that is.

First, the recipe as it was given to me. Then I’ll share some “enhancements.”

Mom’s Fruit Pie

Ingredients:

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup self-rising flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 large can fruit cocktail

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put the butter in a 13”x9” baking dish and place it in the preheating oven.

Mix the flour, sugar, and milk until well blended.

Once the oven is preheated and the butter is melted, pour the fruit cocktail into the baking dish, syrup and all. Then pour the batter over the fruit. Do not stir.

Bake until the crust is golden brown. This may take as long as 45 minutes.

Now, the first thing you’ll notice, if you know a bit about baking, is that this is not a pie. It’s actually a cobbler. It’s also a thin cobbler if you bake it in a 13”x9” pan, but that can be a good thing because this sucker is RICH, and you’ll want smaller servings. Plus, the thinner cobbler also means more chewy and less gooey. You can bake it in an 8”x8” if you like it thicker, or you can half the recipe and use the smaller pan to make less. As I said, it’s rich.

The great thing about this recipe is its versatility. You can use any fruit in syrup, and it will work. Peach is my favorite. You can also use fresh or frozen fruit, about 2 cups worth, with no syrup. It changes the texture, but it’s still a delicious cobbler. You can also substitute Bisquick for the flour, and it works just fine.

And tomorrow I’ll tell you why this recipe may seem familiar to movie buffs.

Until then, enjoy!