Itsy Bitsy (Flour-Free Sugar-Free Gluten-Free Fat-Free) Fruit Cobbler

by Maria Theresa Maggi on October 2, 2013

blackberry cobbler rainbow cup

Strict as I may be about indulging, like Winnie the Pooh, I love “a little something” that’s sweet. Especially after dinner as the nights get longer and more chilly and I have pears and blackberries ripening at every turn. I’ve learned that sugar as a primary sweetener every night is just not good for me. And the flour’s not such a good idea either. And I get bored with plain old oatmeal on the top. It’s too much like breakfast.

This mighty little cobbler with the ridiculously long name is yet another unlikely but delicious concoction wherein millet is one of the “secret ingredients” to succeeding at a nearly impossible task: making a tasty fruit cobbler without flour or sugar. (Sometimes I wonder if I should rename this blog Slow Motion Millet. Or maybe I should at least let millet have its own category. . .)

The other key to this little one person cobbler is a chunk of banana. In my breakfast posts I’ve waxed poetic about how a little bit of mashed banana makes the “big bowl” just sweet enough for me without sugar or syrup. And I love frozen bananas thawed enough to make soft serve. So it was a natural next step for me to see if a little bit of mashed banana would hold a whole grain together enough to make a semblance of crusty topping.

Oh man, did I hit on something. Dressed up with a few other classic acessories like lemon zest and vanilla, I got myself a single helping of warm fruit dessert that doesn’t hurt my teeth, my tummy or my waistline.

Itsy Bitsy Flour-Free Sugar-Free Gluten-Free Fat-Free Fruit Cobbler

blackberry cobbler with spoon

I’m going to level with you. I don’t measure anything in this recipe but the almond milk. Why the almond milk? I don’t know. So here goes.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Have at the ready:

1 small pyrex oven proof dish that holds about 8 oz.

fruit of your choice: I’ve used cut up pears, or cut up figs, or blackberries so far

a shake of cinnamon

a heaping spoonful of pear sauce (or apple sauce)

Put enough pieces of cut fruit or berries in the little pyrex dish to fill a healthy half of it. Mix the fruit with the cinnamon and apple sauce. I’ve only used the pear sauce with my berries, which are tart, and the figs, for extra moisture. My pears are sweet and moist enough by themselves for me.

In another litle pyrex dish or cup, mash a chunk of banana (probably about a healthy tablespoon). Add s healthy pinch of lemon zest and a cap full of vanilla extract. Add some cooked millet (1/3 of a cup?) Add a handful of rolled gluten free oats (this is optional, but nice). Add two tablespoons of almond milk. Mix it all up with a fork. Cover the fruit with it.

Put it in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Take it out and while it’s cooling a bit, make yourself your favorite cup of tea. When the water boils, and the tea is steeping, your itsy bitsy flour-free sugar-free gluten-free fat-free fruit cobbler will be just about cool enough to pick up without your oven mitts. Take it to a cozy spot in your house with your tea mug. Enjoy an itsy bitsy treat with all the warm comforting sweetness of an old fashioned cobbler while you count your blessings.

fig cobbler with peppermint tea

PS: If you must, you could add 1/2 or 1 teaspoon of sweetener to the crust. At first I did this, before I thought of trying the banana. But once I used the banana chunk I never looked back. It made the texture of the “crust” just right and just sweet enough for me–I liked it better, believe it or not, without the sugar. Now that’s pretty “sweet,” as the skateboarder boys around my house when Mike was growing up used to say. And as my mother would have said, “good things come in small packages.” This cobbler is yet another example of how she was absolutely right.

Maria (moonwatcher)