The Farmer's Daughter: Strawberry Rhubarb Bourbon Pie with Candied Ginger Oat Scones (Topped with vanilla ice cream and cinnamon)

The Best Strawberry Rhubarb Dessert You Have Ever Had. Happy National Bourbon Day!

"I’ve learned to treat each basket of really good berries I encounter as a box of fleeting, precious jewels, a treat to be enjoyed with unalloyed pleasure; no cream, sugar, or splash of Beaujolais, just the warm berry in all its scarlet glory. That perfect fruit is a rare find, but once you chance upon it life seems, for an instant, to stand still. Eyes closed, you are briefly lost in buttercup meadows, with bees buzzing on the heavy afternoon air. You need to make much of a truly excellent strawberry when you find it…”- Ripe by Nigel Slater

I am swimming in strawberries these days. Swimming in magnificent red jewel, honeyed berries from the moment I wake up until the moment I fall asleep. People keep asking me if I’m sick of them as they watch me sorting, selling, cutting, and jamming buckets upon buckets of berries ten or so hours a day. I hear numerous child-hood tales of pick-your-own fields and eating so many with the obvious outcome of an aching stomach and a nasty scolding by Grandmother. Under these pick-your-own circumstances or my own where berries are bountiful, there's this undiminished obsessive urge to consume as many as your body can hold. I’m in a constant stand-still, a permanent sort of day-dream. Popping berries in my mouth like air, yet savoring each perfect one with unalloyed pleasure.

So you know what? NO! I’m not sick of them. Not sick of them one bit. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you I eat about 2 quarts a day…EASY! And when that stomach ache comes on, I find it impossible to stop. Willpower has never been my strong suit and these sweet jewels of perfection are no exception. Besides a couple smoothies here and there or some sliced on a rice cake with almond butter (Noelle), I have done nothing with them but peel back the top and pop them in my mouth. (Besides make copious amounts of strawberry jam to sell at the market. ONE OF THE BEST SMELLS EVERRRR!)

While I haven’t been able to bring myself to do much else with them, for a few days now I’ve been reading all kinds of strawberry rhubarb recipes, taking one tip here and another tip there. The outcome which I press to call a masterpiece finally manifested on the most damp, gray, cool, and drizzly June night; perfect for a hot gooey creamy cinnamon-y treat. What’s better than a hot strawberry rhubarb bourbon cobbler with ginger oat scones and vanilla ice cream sprinkled with cinnamon? Hell. I have no idea. I got the bourbon idea from that honey cake I made a few weeks back. Whiskey goes so well in sweet desserts. (Just a little. Subtlety is sublimity. I just made that up.) I also had no idea that TODAY IS NATIONAL BOURBON DAY! Cheers.

The prep work could easily be done a day ahead of time if you’re entertaining and don’t want to be bothered with the chop chop and mess while chit-chatting and laughing with friends. I used a round 9” baking dish but any size around there give or take should work. You want the uncooked filling to almost hit the rim. Spoon the dessert into bowls and top with 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream, then sprinkle with cinnamon. It’s one of those “hold the wall, bend your knees, drop your jaw, make strange noises” sort of desserts. Trust me.

About 6-7 servings (or 4 + leftovers)

INGREDIENTS:

FILLING:

About 3 cups chopped rhubarb (1/2 inch thick pieces)

About 3 cups hulled and halved strawberries (quartered if they're huge)

3 T bourbon

1/3 cup sugar

1 ½ T corn starch (for thickening)

SCONE TOPPING:

1/3 cup rolled old-fashioned oats

½ cup all-purpose flour (I’d imagine GF would work fine)

¼ cup spelt or whole-wheat pastry flour

2 T sugar

¾ t baking powder

¼ t salt

2 T finely chopped crystalized candy ginger

4 T cold unsalted butter, diced

6 T plain greek yogurt

Brown sugar to sprinkle on top

Vanilla ice cream and ground cinnamon to serve

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat to 425ºF.

1. Combine the rhubarb, strawberries, bourbon, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl, and toss until combined. Pour fruit and scrape juices from side into a 9” round baking dish or the equivalent. Bake the fruit until it is somewhat broken down and bubbling, 15-20 minutes. While that’s happening…

2. In a large bowl, combine the flours, oats, sugar, baking powder, salt and ginger. Add the butter, roll in your hands/fingers or cut in with a pastry blender until the mixed well. Add the yogurt and mix until the dough begins to come together, kneading a few times with your hands to form a loose ball. Chill the dough while the fruit bakes.

3. After 15-20 minutes, remove the dish from the oven. Divide the biscuit dough into about 10-12 small balls and place them on top of the filling. Sprinkle the tops with a dusting of brown sugar.

4. Bake the cobbler about 15-20 more minutes until the biscuits are golden on top and the fruit is bubbling thickly. Let the cobbler cool at least 20 minutes to allow the fruit to thicken up.