Strawberry Grapefruit Cobbler with Sweet Cream Cheese Biscuits

I moved to Tennessee almost 1 year ago and by osmosis I could make yummy flaky biscuits. Maybe it’s the powers of the fern I hung on my porch or the y’all I’ve hesitantly adopted into my vocabulary. Whatever it may be, I am grateful for it. The biscuit is not only a superior sandwich vessel but there are countless variations on how you can prepare it. This time I’ve sweetened it up and added some cream cheese for a very rich and delicate sweet dessert biscuit. The grapefruit adds a slight bitterness that helps cut through the cloying sweetness that strawberries sometimes have when they’re cooked. Future cobblers beware - this one is GOOD.

yield : 1 cobbler - about 8 servings

prep time : 1 hour 

Filling :

2 lbs Fresh Strawberries 
1 whole Ruby Red Grapefruit, cut into segments* note on how to at the bottom 
¾ cup Sugar 
3 Tbsp Cornstarch 
1 tsp Vanilla Extract 
1 tsp Kosher Salt 
½ Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Biscuits :

1 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
1/3 cup Sugar, plus 1 Tbsp for dusting
1 ½ Tbsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Kosher Salt
½ cup / 1 stick Unsalted Butter, cold and cubed 
2/3 cup Heavy Cream, plus 1 Tbsp for topping biscuits 
½ cup Cream Cheese, room temperature 

Preheat the oven to 375°

Remove the green caps on all the strawberries. Divide them in half and set one half aside. In a bowl mix ¼ cup of sugar and ½ tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Toss one half of the cleaned whole strawberries in the sugar mix. Place on a parchment lined sheet tray and bake for 25 minutes, until oozing and darkening in color. 

While the strawberries bake make the biscuits. 

In a food processor add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pulse to combine. Add cold cubed butter and pulse until sandy. Add heavy cream and buzz once more until a thickened crumbly dough forms. Pour out onto a floured surface and knead dough a bit to bring together into a solid mass. Using a rolling pin, roll dough into a flat square about 8 inch by 8 inch and fold in half and then in half again, creating a small stacked square. Roll dough flat into a square once more and spread a thick layer of cream cheese onto one half of the square. Fold cream cheese side over onto bare side, fold over once more so you again have a small stacked square. Roll out to 1 inch thick and use a cookie cutter or cup to cut out circles. You can reform the dough one time before it gets sticky. You want 12 circle cut outs total. Don’t throw away the scraps, they make a great snack when baked. 

Place biscuit cut outs on to a sheet tray and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Remove strawberries from the oven. Lightly smash with the back of a spoon.

Turn oven up to 400°

Cut reserved half of strawberries into quarters and add to a large bowl. Scrape roasted smashed strawberries and juices into the bowl. Add grapefruit segments, remaining ½ cup of sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and salt. Mix to combine everything. Transfer to a baking dish. I use a 8 x 10 inch dish but smaller works too. 

Arrange chilled biscuits over the top of the fruit. Brush biscuits with reserved heavy cream and sprinkle with reserved sugar. 

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until biscuits are brown and fruit is bubbly. 

*Segmented Citrus : Slice the top and bottom of the grapefruit off so you have a flat surface to work on and can see the inside cross section. Holding a sharp knife (a smaller knife works great here) at an angle, slice from the very top around and down the side of the citrus so you remove the pith and the zest, while leaving the juicy fruit membrane inside. Repeat this all the way around until you have a naked grapefruit. This takes practice and don’t worry if you remove some fruit, save it for the juice at the end. Carefully hold the fruit in your non-dominant hand over a bowl and using the flat of the blade slice along the membrane at a slight angle around each segment so you remove a clean-cut triangular piece of citrus. Let it fall into the bowl and repeat until all the little pockets are empty. Squeeze the remaining juice into the bowl and remove any seeds that fall in. The more you do this the more beautiful and perfect it will get. Don’t get discouraged, just sharpen your knife and keep practicing.