Apple Cobbler
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This apple cobbler is everything you want in a fall dessert—warm, cinnamony apples, a golden biscuit topping, and plenty of cozy vibes.
There’s a fruit cobbler for every season, and this apple cobbler is one of my fall favorites. Sweet-tart apples are tossed with cinnamon, sugar, and just a touch of flour before being topped with an easy biscuit batter that bakes up golden while soaking up the bubbling apple juices below.
Unlike apple pie, there’s no pastry to roll out or chill, making this recipe perfect for everything from weeknight baking to holiday gatherings. Serve it warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, and don’t be surprised if everyone comes back for seconds.
Love cobblers? When summer rolls around, don’t miss my peach cobbler and blueberry cobbler recipes!
“I have made so many apple cobblers…this is without a doubt the best recipe ever.”
Cobbler vs. Crisp vs. Crumble vs. Buckle: What’s the Difference?
Cobblers, crisps, crumbles, and buckles all share the same basic idea—fruit baked with some kind of topping—but each has its own signature. Cobbler gets its name from a biscuit-like topping dropped over the fruit in big, uneven mounds. It bakes up golden and craggy, like a cobbled stone path. That’s different from an apple crisp or crumble (streusel on top) or a buckle (fruit scattered over a cake batter).
What You’ll Need To Make Apple Cobbler
- Baking Apples: For the best flavor, use a mix of tart and sweet baking apples. Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Gala, Jonagold, Jonathan, and Golden Delicious are all excellent choices (mix different varietals for a more nuanced flavor).
- Sugars (Granulated & Dark Brown): Sweeten the apples and create a syrupy filling as they bake. The brown sugar adds a hint of molasses, while a bit of granulated sugar in the biscuit topping gives it a light crunch.
- All-Purpose Flour: Pulls double duty—thickening the apple filling by soaking up the juices and forming the base of the biscuit dough.
- Cinnamon: Adds cozy warmth that pairs perfectly with the apples.
- Butter: Brings richness to the filling and makes the biscuit topping tender and flaky.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Give the biscuit topping its lift and fluffy texture. (Curious why the recipe uses both? See my post on baking soda vs. baking powder.)
- Buttermilk: Adds moisture and a slight tang, while activating the baking soda for extra rise. If you don’t have any on hand, see my post on how to make buttermilk using milk and vinegar/lemon juice.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the apple filling. Toss the sliced apples with both sugars, flour, and cinnamon until evenly coated.
Step 2: Make the biscuit topping. Whisk the dry ingredients in a bowl. Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, work in the cold butter until it looks like coarse crumbs with small pea-sized pieces still visible. Then stir in the buttermilk just until combined.
Pro Tip: Don’t overmix once the buttermilk goes in—the dough should look lumpy and a little rough, not smooth. That texture is what makes the topping bake up flaky instead of dense.
Step 3: Assemble the cobbler. Spread the apple filling in the baking dish and dot with butter, then drop the topping over it in big, uneven mounds, leaving some gaps so the filling peeks through. Bake until bubbling and golden.
Step 4: Bake and serve. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Let the cobbler cool for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. It needs that time for the filling to set up properly. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Pro Tip: Keep an eye on it during the last 10 minutes of baking. If the topping is browning too fast, loosely tent it with foil.
More Apple Desserts You May Like
Video Tutorial
Apple Cobbler
Ingredients
For the Apple Filling
- 2½ lbs large baking apples, about 5 large, peeled and sliced ¼-inch thick (see note)
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for greasing the pan
For the Biscuit Topping
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 7 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1¾ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
- 1 cup buttermilk (see note)
For Serving (Optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease an 8-inch (20-cm) square or 2-quart (2-L) baking dish with butter.
- Make the Apple Filling: In a large bowl, combine the apples, granulated sugar, brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Toss until the apples are evenly coated. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish and pat into an even layer. Dot with the 2 tablespoons butter.
- Make the Biscuit Topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 6 tablespoons of the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the cold butter and smoosh with your fingers (or cut in with a pastry cutter) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized clumps of butter within. Add the buttermilk and stir until just combined and evenly moistened. It will look lumpy; that's good. Do not overmix.
- Using a large spoon, dollop 8 to 10 spoonfuls of the biscuit batter over the apples, allowing the filling to show through in spots (most of the filling will be covered). Sprinkle the remaining tablespoon of sugar over the batter.
- Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the top is golden, about 45 minutes (keep an eye on it during the last 10 minutes; if it looks like it's getting too brown, cover it loosely with aluminum foil). Let the cobbler cool for 15 to 20 minutes, then serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
Notes
- For the best flavor, use a combination of tart and sweet baking apples, such as Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Gala, Jonagold, Jonathan, and Golden Delicious. (Don't use all tart or all sweet, or the flavor won't be balanced. I typically use 2 Granny Smith, 2 Golden Delicious, and 1 Honeycrisp.
- If you don't have any buttermilk on hand (or don't want to purchase a whole carton), it's easy to make your own. Check out the easy method here.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The cobbler can be made one day ahead and kept, covered with foil, at room temperature. Reheat, covered with foil, in 300°F (150°C) oven for 25 minutes, then remove the foil and continue reheating for 15 to 20 minutes more, or until warmed through.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I reread this recipe 3 times to make sure I didn’t do anything wrong. My topping was the consistency of pancake batter. It looked nothing like yours. I wasn’t able to scoop neat mounds like you did. Jenn, just wondering if 1 cup of buttermilk is correct? It’s in the oven now, so hopefully it’ll all work out.
I’m sorry you had a problem with the topping! 1 cup of buttermilk is correct. Is there any chance you mis-measured the flour?
Can this be made in a round 8 inch skillet?
An 8-inch skillet would be too small, but I think a 10-inch would work. Please LMK how it turns out!
This is a great cobbler recipe that I think needs a bit of tweaking.
I’m just a “get by ” cook, “get by baker”.
Cobblers are easy and guaranteed to impress guests.
Research has taught me that there are too many cobblers both fruit and vegetable to count. It’s also taught me a few important tips every cobbler recipe should stress for success.
First. Heat your filling until bubbling hot. This allows for a hot area for the buses to cook quickly.
Second. Use a small spoon to space the biscuit dough, then fill in the empty spaces. This is important because cobblers need to vent while cooking so biscuits won’t be soggy.
Third. Bake your cobbler until buscits read at least 130 degrees on an instant read thermomiter to prevent soggy buscits.
I did top the filling with toasted walnuts and melted butter. Otherwise, I stuck with the recipe.
Hi Jenn,
I love your peach cobbler and can’t wait to try the apple one. This one calls for more butter in the filling and crust, could I use the butter amounts from the peach recipe as I try to keep my fat down due to cholesterol issues?
I love all of your recipes Jenn, thank you.
Hi Sue, you can use the amount of butter called for in the peach cobbler filling but I’d stick with 1 stick/8 tablespoons of butter for the topping as you’ll need that for the dough to come together. If you’d prefer, you can use the topping from the peach cobbler on this. It will just be thinner. Hope that helps!
Amazing cobbler! We can’t stop eating it. I plan to make another one on Saturday. Does this freeze well? Any suggestions?
Hi Jess, so glad you like it! I haven’t frozen it, but I think you could freeze it before or after baking. Either way, I’d let it defrost in the fridge for about 24 hours and reheat per the Make-Ahead instructions at the bottom of the recipe.
This is my new favorite cobbler recipe and I look forward to using it with lots of in-season fruits throughout the summer and fall. Thanks to one reviewer for her suggestion to grate the cold butter – easy peasy! The taste is just right; it doesn’t overpower the fruit. The texture, too, is a great complement to the softer cooked fruit. To anyone wondering about high altitude baking, this cobbler came out great in Denver, CO with none of those fussy little adjustments we so often have to make.
I ADORE this recipe! I discovered it right before last Thanksgiving and this simple but oh-so-dreamy cobbler was a big, big hit! I’ve made it a handful of times since then and I’m even making it for my birthday this weekend. It’s my favorite cold-weather-cozy-comfort-food desserts. With a big scoop of vanilla ice cream this is a lovely, lovely end to a meal. Or breakfast. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
I just made this apple cobbler for the first time tonight and my husband and I both loved it! The cobbler was so light and really complimented the apple filling. I’ve already saved it and plan to keep it with my favorite recipes.
I didn’t use a mixture of different kinds of apples, nonetheless this tasted wonderful. Just the right amount of richness for me. The biscuit layer was moist, buttery, and the density I like. I’m trying to figure a way to make the biscuit alone for breakfast and shortcake purposes, lol.
Would definitely make this and the peach variant again!
We were invited by a dear friend for a Hanukkah dinner last night so I decided to make and bring this apple cobbler. I followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious. It was a big hit with the hostess who loves apples. So now I can’t wait to make her peach cobbler! Thank you for this delicious dessert!