Pricky Pear Cobbler

So this island here has Opuntia littoralis.  A species of Prickly Pear Cactus with delicious fruits.  Of the few things abundant on this arid rock prickly pear is one.  So I wanted to cook up something delicious.  I found a recipe posted online in 1976 in Mother Earth News, for a prickly pear pie.  The recipe instructions boggled my mind!  A pie with a pancake batter dough at the bottom that would surround the entire pie while cooking. News to me, but it sounded good.  I baked this as a surprise, but maybe I should have consulted with Emily first, and I would have know it was a cobbler that belonged in a shallow 9x13" pan.  Because of the depth of this dish (several inches) the crust was unable to bubble to the top.  Ah well, suppose I'll have to make it again for Thanksgiving.  The red cactus filling has been delicious as spread on toast, but I didn't like the texture of the goopy dough at the bottom of the dish.  But I do recommend trying this recipe yourself, but with a cobbler dish! 

PRICKLY PEAR PIE (VERSION 2) COBBLER!

3-1/2 cups of prickly pear pulp
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of water
1 stick of margarine or butter
1 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar (for crust)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
To make filling: Place the pulp, cup of sugar, and water in a saucepan and boil (with stirring) until the sugar is completely dissolved ... then remove from heat and set aside.
Crust: begin by putting the  butter in a large baking casserole and placing the casserole— in turn—in the oven as it preheats to 350°. Then, in a clean bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, and vanilla together and pour the resulting mixture—which should have the consistency of pancake batter—into the hot casserole, atop the melted butter (Do not stir). Then—in the center of  the crust mixture—pour the filling. (Do not stir.)
Bake for about 30 minutes in a 350° oven. During the baking period, the batter for the crust will actually rise over and completely cover the pie's filling.  The pie is done when the crust is completely brown.