Apple Cranberry Polenta Cobbler

You’re probably starting to wonder if we ever eat savory food anymore. We do. I promise. Last night we had baked fish with a cauliflower puree that was really delightful. I just never photograph dinner anymore. But I will. Someday. So, once again you get dessert. Or breakfast.


Tuesdays we have our kiddo music class (lovingly dubbed “Tot Boogie”) at the house of one of my most favorite momma friends (Lil is pretty fond of her tot too).  Anyway, with snow in the forecast and more than a week of cabin fever under my belt, I was ready to celebrate. Or perhaps I was just hoping to convince the mommas in our group to linger a bit after class for some much needed coffee and conversation. Nothing encourages mommas to linger more than a warm sweet treat.


The same article in Bon Appetit that featured the jam and hazelnut galette also included an apple/berry polenta cobbler. Once again, I didn’t have quite everything they called for in the house so I made up my own version.


Apples and tart dried cranberries provide a nice sweet/tart base and the biscuits — made with cornmeal and yogurt — are a hearty, crumbly counterpoint. The cornmeal gives the biscuits a really nice texture and a slightly out of the ordinary flavor.


The mommas in our group stuck around for seconds despite the drizzly day, so I think they liked it. We went home with just one piece left, and I’d originally planned on giving to JiT but my willpower got the better of me and I ended up having it for breakfast today 🙂


Apple Cranberry Polenta Cobbler
8 servings


3 lbs apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
8 oz dried cranberries, soaked in 1/4 cup cranberry juice
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice


1/2 cup cornmeal 
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for work surface
1/4 cup sugar 
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 cup half and half plus more for brushing
2 Tablespoons raw turbano sugar for sprinkling


Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Combine apples, cranberries (with juice), sugar, cornstarch, honey, butter and lemon juice in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Pour into a 3 quart shallow baking dish.


Place cornmeal, baking powder, salt, flour and sugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Add butter and pulse until the butter is in pea-sized chunks. Add yogurt and half and half and pulse just until dough is wet and begins to form a uniform ball. Dump dough onto a floured work surface and knead just to bring the dough together into a ball. Using your hands, press the dough into a rectangle slightly smaller than your baking pan size. Cut doug into 9 uniform biscuits and lay gently over the apple mixture in baking pan.


Brush biscuits lightly with half & half and sprinkle with raw sugar. Bake on the center rack in the oven for 40 minutes or until biscuits are golden and filling is bubbly around the edges of the pan. Allow cobbler to cool for 10 minutes before serving.