Pumpkin Pecan Cobbler Recipe by Lauren’s Latest

Since we’ve paid much more attention to breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes on this blog, I think it’s time that desserts got a little love. I’ve been picking up on this recently, but today’s dessert tops the “cake.” It’s wildly awesome and probably needs very little introduction.

The Recipe

Fall is here and from what I gather browsing around online, pumpkin is in the air. I think around 8 out of 10 newly released recipes these days use pumpkin as the primary ingredient. That’s not surprising, considering Halloween is practically here and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. It’s pumpkin pie time, so I’m sure I’ll be seeing many recipes surrounding that dessert online as well. Heck, maybe I’ll even try one of them.

Cobblers are one of my favorite types of desserts. I love the crust and the filling and the sauce – I love it all. When you heat it up and put a scoop of ice cream on top – I mean, seriously. I’m only human. They’re so good that most of America has probably tried at least one variation.

This is another recipe that Laura found online. She emailed it to me a few days ago and I said, “Yes. Let’s do it.” I didn’t really have a choice because I’ve been jonesing for a good dessert. She discovered the recipe on a food blog called Lauren’s Latest, which gets tons of traffic and lots of activity. On this recipe alone, the author has already acquired 410 comments. That’s pretty crazy, but it’s good news because I like to measure a recipe’s legitimacy before investing the time it takes to put something together. There’s a lot of preparation that goes into this type of thing.

The dessert is awesome. There’s a strong pumpkin taste and the sweetness of the cake, combined with the smoothness of the sauce is outstanding. The crust has some really nice texture and tons of sweetness as well. I’ve actually only enjoyed a small sample so far, so I’m extremely excited to try a bowl of it later on. I bet the ice cream is going to melt all over the place to create some gooey perfection.

Ingredients

Makes: 8 Servings

For the Batter

1 Cup plus 3 Tablespoons All-Purpose Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 Teaspoon Cloves
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree
1/4 Cup Half and Half
1/4 Cup Melted Butter
1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla

For the Topping

1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/4 Cup Crushed Pecans
1 1/2 Cups Very Hot Water

Step-by-Step Instructions

This recipe is really easy to put together, although some things are going to throw you for a loop. First, I doubled up on the ingredients because I wanted to make twice as much cobbler. So, the ingredients in the photos below will look substantially more in volume. Second, this recipe includes water. It’s to be poured over everything else before it goes into the oven. This is what’s supposed to happen. Don’t get nervous about this, just follow what I write below.

Pre-Heat the Oven

The first thing to do is to move one of your oven racks to the center position. Then, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix Dry Ingredients

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients, including the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Set this aside for later use.

Mix Wet Ingredients

In a medium sized bowl, combine the wet ingredients, including the pumpkin, half and half, melted butter and vanilla.

Combine Dry & Wet Ingredients

Pour the wet ingredients from the medium sized bowl into the large bowl that’s holding the dry ingredients. Mix everything together well, making sure there are no dry spots.

Add to Casserole

Since I doubled up this recipe, I used a 9×13 inch casserole. If you are following the recipe as it’s written here, use a casserole half that size. Just make sure the sides are over 3 inches. This cobbler is going to bubble and rise and I wouldn’t want yours to bubble over the sides.

Pour the batter from the large bowl into the casserole and smooth out evenly. The casserole should not be greased.

Prepare the Topping

In a medium sized bowl, combine the white granulated sugar, brown sugar and crushed pecans.

Add Topping to Batter

Add the topping mix evenly to the batter. Spread out as necessary.

Add Water & Bake

Now, here’s where things get strange and where you’re going to think something isn’t correct with the recipe. At this point, you’ll want to microwave the cup and a half of water for a few minutes until it’s nice and hot. I think 3 minutes will suffice. Then, gently pour the water over the ingredients in the casserole. Things will be submerged and the nuts will likely float. Ignore all that. Don’t stir anything and immediately place the casserole into the oven for approximately 40 minutes.

At the end of the 40 minutes, you’ll likely see some jiggling and bubbling going on inside the oven. If yours looks like mine does in the photo below, it’s finished. At this time, remove from oven and turn off heat.

There are two distinct components in this finished recipe, the breading and the sauce. As you scoop into it, you’ll see both of them.

The Final Dessert

You can see what I’m talking about in the photo below. I scooped some cobbler from the casserole and placed it in the bowl. Then, I added some sauce to it as well. Finally, I added a scoop of vanilla ice cream I purchased just for this occasion. Enjoy!