Peach Cobbler
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Got ripe peaches? This peach cobbler is the dessert to make—sweet, lightly spiced fruit tucked under a rich buttermilk biscuit topping. Simple, cozy, and perfect for any summer occasion.
Peach cobbler is a rustic dessert made from sweet peaches, warm spices, and a homemade buttermilk biscuit topping dolloped on top of the crust, baked until the fruit is bubbling and the top is golden and cobbled, like an old stone pathway. This dessert is a delicious way to use up all your sun-ripened summer peaches, as well as any other fruit you’d like to mix in (a combination of blackberries and peaches would be wonderful).
For more seasonal variations, check out my apple cobbler and blueberry cobbler. And don’t skip the finishing touch—a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or a generous dollop of sweetened whipped cream is a must.
“I made this for my husband’s family last night (all from Georgia—the peach state) and they said it was the best peach cobbler recipe ever!”
Cobbler vs. Crisp vs. Crumble vs. Buckle: What’s the Difference?
A cobbler belongs to the same family of rustic fruit desserts as crisps, crumbles, and buckles, but each has its own structure. A crisp or crumble tops fruit with a streusel, like my peach crisp or strawberry rhubarb crisp. A buckle flips things around entirely, with the fruit scattered over a cake batter instead of under a topping. A cobbler sits in between: biscuit dough dropped over the fruit in big, uneven dollops, which bake up golden and craggy—resembling a cobbled stone path, hence the name. The result is a fruit filling with a rich, slightly savory, biscuit-like topping, rather than a sweet streusel or a cakey crumb.
What You’ll Need To Make Peach Cobbler
- Peaches: Fresh, ripe peaches are best, but thawed frozen peaches work great too; just drain off the excess liquid first. Peel the peaches for the best texture.
- Lemon juice: Brightens the peaches and balances the sweetness of the filling.
- Sugar: Sweetens both the peach filling and the biscuit topping.
- Cornstarch: Thickens the peach juices so the filling turns out perfectly saucy, not soupy.
- Cinnamon & nutmeg: Add a cozy, warm spice note to the peach filling.
- Flour: The base of the biscuit topping.
- Baking powder & baking soda: Give the topping lift so it bakes up light rather than dense. (Curious about the difference? Check out my post on baking soda vs. baking powder.)
- Salt: Balances the sweetness and rounds out the flavor of the topping.
- Butter: Cut cold into the dry ingredients, it creates little pockets that steam as the topping bakes, making it flaky and tender.
- Buttermilk: Adds richness and a subtle tang to the topping. (No buttermilk on hand? See my post on how to make buttermilk using milk and lemon juice/vinegar.)
- Vanilla: Rounds out the flavor of the biscuit topping.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prep the peach filling. Toss the peaches with the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, and spices, then set the bowl aside. As it sits, the sugar and lemon juice will start pulling juice out of the peaches; that’s exactly what you want, since it becomes part of the syrupy filling once baked.
Step 2: Mix the biscuit topping. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the cold butter and cut into the dry ingredients until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Then stir in the buttermilk mixture just until combined.
Pro Tip: Keep the butter cold and don’t overmix once the buttermilk goes in — both are what give the topping its flaky, tender texture instead of a dense one. The dough should look a little rough and lumpy, not smooth like a typical batter.
Step 3: Assemble and bake. Spread the peach filling in the baking dish, then drop the topping over it in big, uneven dollops, leaving gaps between them. A sprinkle of sugar over the top helps it caramelize into a little extra crunch as it bakes.
Pro Tip: Those gaps in the topping allow the peach juices to bubble up and caramelize around the topping as it bakes, which is what gives the cobbler its classic “cobbled” look and craggy texture, rather than one smooth crust.
Step 4: Cool and serve. The cobbler needs a full hour to cool before serving. Resist the urge to dig in sooner. As it sits, the filling firms up from loose and soupy to properly thick and saucy, so you get clean scoops instead of a runny mess.
“The biscuit topping had just the right amount of sweetness…Combined with the warm spices of the peach filling, it was a match made in heaven!”
More Fruity Summer Desserts You May Like
Peach Cobbler
Ingredients
For the Peach Filling
- 3 lb yellow peaches (7 medium peaches), peeled, pitted, and cut into ¼-in (6-mm) slices
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the Biscuit Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 7 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 1¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks, plus more for greasing the pan
- ⅔ cup buttermilk (see note)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
For Serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly butter a 9-in (23-cm) square or 2.5-qt baking dish.
- Make the peach filling: In a large bowl, combine the peaches, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Mix until well combined and the peaches are evenly coated. Set aside.
- Make the biscuit topping: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, 6 tablespoons (75 g) of the sugar, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the butter and rub in with your fingers, or blend with a pastry cutter, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the buttermilk and vanilla extract. Add the buttermilk-vanilla mixture to the flour mixture and stir with a spoon until evenly moistened. Do not overmix; the batter will look lumpy.
- Assemble and bake the cobbler: Transfer the peach filling to the prepared baking dish and flatten into an even layer. Drop the batter in 6 large, evenly spaced dollops on top of the peaches. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly over the batter. Bake until the fruit is bubbling and the top is golden, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool for about 1 hour, then serve with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream.
- Cover any leftover cobbler loosely with a kitchen towel. (Do not cover with plastic wrap or the biscuit topping will get soggy.) Reheat in a 325°F oven for about 15 minutes.
Notes
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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Amazing recipe! I made buttermilk from milk and lemons, and the topping turned out great with it! It didn’t spread as much as the photos, but I think its because I over-mixed the batter. Nevertheless that wasn’t an issue and the topping was light and fluffy. Thank you!!
The topping is fantastic! I didn’t follow the recipe regarding the peaches as I had already begun another recipe which was very similar but I wanted a buttermilk topping. (Had buttermilk I needed to use). The topping spread out nicely while cooking though at first it seemed too thick. I still have a lot more peaches to use so I’ll do this recipe again.
I’d suggest blanching the peaches first for 30-45 seconds in boiling water, then straight into an ice water bath to cool. This makes peeling the skin off extremely easy. No waste of the yummy peach during peeling.
This is hands down my favorite cobbler recipe to date!! I made it Sunday for Father’s day and my husband and kids went nuts over it. All plates were licked clean 😂. I used peaches and blackberries, and I subbed Lakanto (monkfruit) for sugar with the exception of the 1T. that is sprinkled on top. I wasn’t sure the lakanto would brown like sugar does. Thanks Jenn for the recipe! This is one that will be passed on to future generations 😊😋.
Hi, If fresh peaches are not available, can frozen be used in this cobbler recipe? If so, are there any adjustments that should be made? Thank you
Sure, just make sure to defrost and drain any excess liquid, then proceed with recipe. Hope you enjoy!
❤️ this recipe. Being from Canada our peaches have a short season so the best are often frozen. I just mixed the frozen peaches as per your instructions and baked them in the oven for 20 minutes till thawed and then followed the rest of the recipe. Turned out perfect.
We are having trouble getting butter right now because we can’t go to the store but we just harvested a bunch of peaches off our tree. Can I use vegetable or olive oil instead of butter here? The same goes with zucchini bread and I want to make all these recipes but I have to work with what we’ve got. Thanks!
Unfortunately, oil won’t work for this recipe, but vegetable oil will work for the zucchini bread. Hope you enjoy if you make it! 🙂
Thanks! Also, our peaches are small-ish, so would I use about 16 instead? I don’t have a kitchen scale and I’m not sure how many cups of peaches it would be.
I think 16 may be too many, but it’s hard to say without seeing your peaches. I’d guesstimate you will need the equivalent of about 7 cups of sliced peaches.
This is the second peach cobbler I’ve made. I found this one to be missing something. The peaches we’re fantastic, and the flavor of the topping was great but the texture was not as soft and fluffy as I would have hoped. I followed the directions carefully and it just wasn’t a great texture.
Definitely ***** I made it tonight and it was delicious 😋. Like all Jenn’s recipes, it was very easy and quick to make. I used 10 small peaches and removed all the juice before putting them in the 8×11 baking dish. I baked it for 40 min and it came out perfect👌 Thanks Jenn!
Hi, can I make this in an 8×8 or would that affect the texture of the topping? Any adjustments? Thanks.
Hi L, if you want to use an 8×8, I’d recommend cutting the recipe by 1/4 or 1/2. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn
Just wondering if apples or berries could be used instead of peaches?
Thanks!
Trudy
Hi Trudy, Apples should work here. If you want to use berries, I’d mix them with another fruit (like apples or peaches) because they release a lot of liquid. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
The whole family really enjoyed this. The topping is light and not too thick.
My granddaughter requested this for her early March birthday, so I reluctantly used canned peaches, but it was still absolutely delicious. I look forward to making it in the summer when fresh peaches are available. This will be my go-to cobbler recipe!
Oh my goodness that was the best Peach Cobbler that I have ever tasted and I have made plenty. Only change I made was adding quartered prune plums to the peaches. But the absolute best thing was the CRUST. So light and tasty and by far the best I have tasted.
Hi Jenn,
Approximately how many cups will 8 peaches yield?
Thanks!
Hi Leslie, It really depends on the size of the peaches, but I’m guessing about 7 cups.