Chocolate Cobbler

This past weekend, we took a family trip to the beach.  Myself, my daughter, brother, sister-in-law and nephew all packed in the car and went to my parents house to harass them for the whole weekend.  Lucky them!  After the cupcake contest Friday evening, I was talking with my mom and sister-in-law about different ideas and general brainstorming for different things I can make.  My sister-in-law and I are very different when it comes to what we like when it comes to desserts.  She likes more of the fancy dishes, I like the simple stuff.  She’s also VERY honest, so anytime I want to know how good (or bad) something tastes, I can certainly rely on her for some feedback.  For instance…she doesn’t like cheesecake.  I love cheesecake.  She doesn’t like strawberry flavored cakes.  I love them.  She’s tired of peanut butter because our family is peanut butter crazy.  I’m still not tired of peanut butter.  She likes bread pudding.  I’m not a fan…and the list goes on.  So, who is a better person than her to get some different ideas of desserts that I would never think of to try?  No one.

On the way home, I asked her what kind of desserts she really likes.  She suggested pineapple upside down cake (which she’s suggested a few times before, but I haven’t gotten to that one yet), lava cakes, cobblers.  She mentioned how she’s not really big on the fruit part of cobblers, but sounded like she was salivating while talking about a chocolate cobbler.  Bingo!  Lightbulb turned on in my head.  So, that was next.  Cobblers are very much of a southern dish, so I can’t help but to chuckle at the fact that she’s from New Jersey and requested a cobbler.  We’ve converted her.  Well, maybe not with the peanut butter thing because she’s sick of it now…and I can see why.  Their son eats a peanut butter sandwich every day.  He dips his Cheerios in peanut butter.  Every.  Day.  When we were at the beach, my brother (her husband) was hungry for a late night snack, so he walks out of the kitchen with a spoonful of peanut butter.  They have two dogs, named Peanut and Butter.  No, I’m not kidding.  I must have laughed for two weeks when they got their new puppy and named him Butter.

After we got home, I started searching for chocolate cobbler recipes, and found one on allrecipes.com.  I have never made a cobbler before…and to be honest, I’m not a huge fan.  I’m hoping that this recipe will turn things around for my outlook on cobblers, especially since they’re a popular dish in the South.  Survey says…I’m now good with cobbler.  Chocolate, that is.  May have to branch out and try some others after this one.  😉

Recipe:

6 tablespoons butter

1 cup self-rising flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup white sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups boiling water