Last night I made a quick trip to the market to stock up on cherries and sour cherries and, of course, came home with something completely different from what I had planned. 😄
I spotted some incredibly fragrant, juicy-looking peaches and couldn’t resist. I picked a few of the firmer ones, figuring I’d find a recipe for them once I got home.
And, one click led to another, and I came across a peach cobbler that immediately caught my attention. I had never made peach cobbler before, and it looked like exactly the kind of easy summer dessert I love: throw everything together, pop it in the oven, and let it do its thing while you get on with your day.
The result was so good that those peaches I bought simply because they looked pretty suddenly had a very clear purpose. 🙂
What is a peach cobbler?
If you’ve never had cobbler before, it’s a classic American fruit dessert made with baked fruit and a soft, biscuit-like topping.
For this version, fresh peaches are baked until juicy and slightly caramelized, then topped with a tender biscuit dough that turns beautifully golden and lightly crisp on top.
It’s somewhere between a fruit pie and a biscuit-topped dessert, but without having to roll out pastry or fuss with a pie crust.
And that’s probably one of the things I love most about it.
Why you’ll love this peach cobbler
First of all, it’s incredibly easy to make, but the finished dessert looks and tastes much more impressive than the amount of work involved would suggest.
As the peaches bake, they release their juices and create a fragrant, syrupy fruit filling. The biscuit topping gets golden and absorbs some of that delicious peach juice as it bakes.
I also love the contrast between the soft, juicy peaches and the golden topping. It’s warm, rustic, comforting and very much a summer dessert.
And if you have a basket of ripe peaches sitting on your kitchen counter, this is a pretty good way to use them.
What kind of peaches are best for peach cobbler?
Choose ripe, fragrant peaches that are still firm enough to slice without falling apart.
They don’t have to look perfect. In fact, this is a great recipe for peaches that are deliciously ripe and ready for baking, even if they wouldn’t necessarily win a beauty contest on the fruit stand.
If your peaches are particularly juicy, don’t skip the step of letting them release some of their juice before baking. This helps keep the cobbler from becoming too watery.
A few tips for the best peach cobbler
One of the important steps in this recipe is allowing the peaches to release some of their juice before they go into the oven. This gives you a little more control over how much liquid ends up in the finished dessert.
Don’t worry if the biscuit dough looks rather crumbly at first. Before the yogurt is added, it has a sandy, almost cookie-crumb-like texture. Once the yogurt goes in, the mixture comes together into a soft dough that can be shaped and placed over the peaches.
And don’t worry about making six perfectly shaped pieces of dough. This is a rustic dessert, so the more homemade and imperfect it looks, the better. 😉
Keep an eye on the topping toward the end of baking. It should be beautifully golden brown, while the peach filling should be bubbling gently around the edges.
How to serve peach cobbler
Peach cobbler is best served warm, when the peaches are soft and fragrant and the biscuit topping is still beautifully golden.
For the ultimate summer dessert, serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The way the cold ice cream slowly melts over the warm peaches is, honestly, reason enough to make this cobbler. 😋
It’s also delicious on its own, especially if you want the flavor of the fresh peaches to really shine.
How to store peach cobbler
If there’s any left for the next day 🤭, cover the cobbler and refrigerate it.
The topping won’t be quite as crisp as it is straight from the oven, but it can easily be reheated before serving.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use very ripe peaches?
Yes, but if the peaches are extremely soft and juicy, pay extra attention to the amount of liquid they release. You don’t want all of that juice to end up in the baking dish.
Can I use frozen peaches?
Yes. The texture will be slightly different from a cobbler made with fresh peaches. Thaw the peaches first and drain off any excess liquid before using them.
Is peach cobbler the same as peach pie?
Not quite. A peach pie is made with a pastry crust, while a cobbler is essentially baked fruit topped with pieces of biscuit-like dough.
It’s more rustic, much less fussy, and there’s no pastry to roll out. Which, if you ask me, is a very good thing.
Can I make cobbler with other fruit?
Absolutely. The same idea works beautifully with other seasonal fruit.
Try it with apricots, plums, nectarines, cherries, sour cherries, berries, or a combination of fruits. Just keep in mind that different fruits release different amounts of juice, so the final texture may vary.
Still, when summer peaches are at their best, this is one of my favorite ways to use them.
More fruit desserts to try
If you love simple seasonal fruit desserts, here are a few more recipes from the blog you might enjoy:
Apricot Galette with Vanilla Cream – a rustic galette with buttery pastry, fragrant apricots and a silky vanilla cream. It’s simple, beautiful and lets the summer fruit do most of the work.
Blueberry Galette – juicy blueberries wrapped in a golden, buttery pastry crust. An easy rustic dessert that’s perfect when you have a basket of fresh blueberries to use.
Mini Sour Cherry Tarts with Vanilla Cream and Italian Meringue – individual buttery pastry tarts filled with tart sour cherries, vanilla cream and topped with Italian meringue. They’re perfect for summer gatherings and, unlike a large tart, disappear suspiciously quickly. 😉
Fresh Peach Cobbler with Biscuit Topping
6
servings45
minutes30
minutes300
kcalFresh peach cobbler made with juicy summer peaches and a tender, golden biscuit topping. An easy, rustic American dessert that’s perfect served warm with vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients
8 medium peaches
6 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
80 g unsalted butter
14 tablespoons all-purpose flour
140 ml plain yogurt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cornstarch
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon granulated sugar, for topping
Directions
- Wash, peel and slice the peaches. Place them in a bowl and sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of sugar. Let them sit for 30–40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the peaches release their juices.
- Drain the peaches in a sieve and reserve about 120 ml (1/2 cup) of the peach juice. Add the cornstarch and lemon juice and stir well.
- Return the peaches to the bowl, pour the juice mixture over them and stir until evenly coated.
- Transfer the peaches to a baking dish and place in a preheated oven at 230°C / 450°F. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the juices begin to bubble around the edges.
- Meanwhile, prepare the biscuit topping. Mix the butter, cut into small pieces, with the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar.
- Add the flour, baking powder and baking soda and mix until the mixture becomes crumbly and sandy in texture.
- Add the yogurt and stir with a spoon until a soft dough forms.
- Divide the dough into 6 pieces and arrange them over the hot peaches.
- Sprinkle the remaining teaspoon of sugar over the dough and return the dish to the oven.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until the biscuit topping is golden brown and the peach filling is bubbling.
- Let the cobbler cool for a few minutes, then serve warm, on its own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Note
- Nutritional information is provided as an estimate and may vary depending on the size and variety of the peaches and the specific ingredients and brands used.
