Pear and Cranberry Cobbler

[Kitchen Witch]

Pear and Cranberry Cobbler
Makes 6 servings

4 firm ripe Bosc pears, peeled, cored, and sliced into ½-inch-wide wedges (about 5 cups)
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger

Cobbler Topping
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
2 ½ tablespoons sugar
? teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut up
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening
½ cup buttermilk, as needed


Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking dish.
Toss the pears, cranberries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and ginger in a large bowl. Transfer to the baking dish.
To make the cobbler topping, combine the flour, baking powder, 1 ½ tablespoons of the sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the butter and shortening and cut in with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in enough buttermilk to make a soft dough.
Using floured hands, pat out the dough on a floured work surface into an 8-inch square. Using a sharp knife, cut into ¾-inch-wide ribbons. Crisscross the dough on the filling in a lattice pattern. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar over the dough.
Bake until the cobbler crust is golden brown and the filling juices are bubbling, about 45 minutes. Serve warm.