Dessert is the beauty queen of the kitchen.

Food magazines give us cover models of impossibly beautiful cakes. On television, sugar turns into masterpieces as if by magic. Social media does for pastries what airbrushing does for influencers — presenting the most perfect versions of the delicious truth possible.

But the best desserts aren’t necessarily that pretty. There is no better example of that than the grandma of the dessert tray — the cobbler.

A cobbler is a masterpiece of making do. It takes a filling you might normally stuff between cake layers or wrap in the delicately fussy crust of a pie. Instead, that fruit — usually the abundance of the season — is topped with something easier and more forgiving.

The name comes from the cobblestoned appearance of that topping. Maybe it is biscuit dough dropped in odd-sized scoops with jewel-toned syrup bubbling up around them. Sometimes it is a batter with the fruit dimpling the surface. Crisps strewn with streusel, crumbles covered in oats, brown betty layered with buttered and sweetened breadcrumbs are all homey variations on the same theme.

The topping often plays a supporting role, but there is no reason it can’t be just as flavorful and unique.

We took blueberries tossed with sugar, lemon juice and zest and topped it with dollops of lemon poppy seed muffin batter. We mixed three kinds of cherries into a sweet-tart medley and scooped on scone dough studded with dark chocolate chips. We made a Southern-style peach cobbler with an eggy batter poured into sizzling melted butter and topped with peaches poached in a salted caramel.

None looks like a movie star of the dessert world. They are more like your high school sweetheart — the dessert next door that tastes like true love.

Kristina Serafini | Tribune-Review Blueberry lemon poppy seed cobbler.  

Blueberry lemon poppy seed cobbler

2 pints blueberries

1/4 cup sugar

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons butter

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon poppy seeds

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup oil

1 egg

1/2 cup yogurt (lemon or vanilla)

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Simmer blueberries, sugar, half the zest and juice and cornstarch in a saucepan over medium heat until thickened, about 10 minutes. Pour into a baking dish or 9 inch pie pan.

In a bowl, combine flour, poppy seeds, baking powder and sugar. Mix in oil, egg, yogurt, remaining zest and juice and vanilla. Stir just until combined. Drop by spoonful over blueberry mixture. Bake 25-30 minutes or until batter is cooked through.

Serve warm.

Triple cherry cobbler with chocolate chip scones

1 can cherry pie filling

1 can tart red cherries

1 can dark sweet cherries

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 3/4 cups biscuit mix

1/2 cup cream

1/2 cup sugar, divided

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large baking dish or 9 x 13 inch cake pan, mix pie filling with cherries and almond extract.

In a bowl, combine biscuit mix, cream, 1/4 cup sugar, egg and vanilla. Fold in chocolate chips. Using an ice cream scoop, drop evenly over cherries. Sprinkle dough with remaining sugar. Bake 30 minutes or until dough is cooked through.

Serve warm.

Southern-style caramel peach cobbler

4 cups sliced peaches

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup water

3/4 cups butter

2 tablespoons cream

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet, saute peaches, brown sugar and water over low heat until peaches are softened and liquid is thickened. Add 2 tablespoons butter, cream and salt.

Meanwhile, melt remaining butter. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, milk, egg and 2 tablespoons melted butter. Pour remaining melted butter into 9 x 13 inch cake pan. Pour batter over butter. Pour peaches over batter. Bake 30 minutes or until batter is cooked through.

Serve warm.

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