Fresh, juicy peaches, sweet, tender cake topping, and a hint of cardamom make this scrumptious Southern Peach Cobbler a summertime favorite.
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What's is Southern Peach Cobbler?
This Southern peach cobbler recipe is a tender, juicy cross between a biscuity Northern cobbler and a cakey New England buckle.
Generally, Northern-style peach cobblers are more fruit than topping. A doughy topping is layered over sweetened fruit; and when baked, the fruit is covered with a fluffy scone-like crust.
If Northern-style cobbler is "more fruit, less cake," then a New England buckle is "more cake, less fruit." In a buckle, cake batter is first poured into a butter-lined baking pan, and fruit is spooned or placed over the top. (Buckles sometimes have a streusel topping as well.) The fruit and cake bake together, and when it's done, the top appears smooth and “buckled” by the recesses created by the cooked fruit.
Broadly speaking, Southern-style peach cobbler is a hybrid of these two delicious desserts. Like a Northern-style cobbler, our Southern peach cobbler recipe has a high ratio of fruit to dough (i.e., more fruit, less cake). However, instead of being baked under a biscuit dough, the fruit is baked on top of a thin, sweet batter. The batter rises to the top during baking, surrounding the fruit, as with a buckle.
We think the combination is fabulous.
Peach Cobbler Ingredients
Cardamom and peaches were made for one another! The addition of cardamom gives this easy Peach Cobbler recipe a hint of gentle spiced warmth, enhancing the natural flavors of the peaches.
- Peaches: We prefer using fresh peaches whenever possible; however, for this Southern peach cobbler, canned peaches work nearly as well. Peaches should be room temperature.
- Sugar: Use granulated white sugar.
- Brown sugar: Use light brown sugar.
- Cardamom: You can also use cinnamon.
- Butter: Use salted or unsalted butter.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour. (This recipe has not yet been tested using alternative flours.)
- Baking Powder: If you find you're out of baking powder, you can easily make it at home.
- Salt: We use kosher salt.
- Egg: We use a USDA large egg (EU size medium).
- Milk: For best results use whole milk. Low fat milk or alternative milks will also work.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make this Easy Peach Cobbler Recipe
Peel peaches if desired. Slice into roughly even slices (about 8-10 per peach). Measure out 4-5 cups of sliced peaches. Keep any liquid that accumulates.
Fresh Peaches: Place sliced peaches and accumulated liquid, ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon cardamom in a medium mixing bowl and stir to combine.
Canned Peaches: Do not drain peaches; you will use the liquid. For peaches in heavy syrup, fold in a ¼ teaspoon of cardamom. For peaches in light syrup, fold in 2 tablespoons brown sugar and a ¼ teaspoon of cardamom.
Set aside.
Peaches must be room temperature (or warmer) before proceeding.
Preheat oven to 350℉ (177℃). Slice butter and place in a 9x13 glass baking dish. Place the baking dish in the oven while it preheats.
Remove baking dish from oven when all the butter has melted.
Mix the batter while the butter is melting in the oven.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, ¼ cup each sugar and brown sugar, ½ teaspoon cardamom, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In a large mix-and-pour bowl, beat the egg, and then whisk in the milk.
Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the mixture is smooth.
Slowly pour the batter in over the melted butter in thin ribbons, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Use a spatula only as necessary to distribute the batter evenly. (Avoid stirring. It's totally fine for the batter to have little holes in it. )
The baking dish with the melted butter should still be very warm when you pour in the batter; 5-10 minutes out of the oven is perfect. Do not pour the batter into bubbling butter - the pan will be too hot.
Carefully spoon the prepared peaches and any accumulated juice evenly over the top over the top of the batter.
(Canned peaches only: Use up to ¾ cup of the peach liquid.)
Bake at 350℉ (177℃) for 45-55 minutes. The batter will rise to the top during baking, surrounding the fruit. Bake until the top is light golden brown and the center bounces back when gently pressed.
Serve warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Variations
Use berries to create delicious seasonal variations for this cobbler recipe. For example:
- Peach & Raspberry Cobbler: Sub in raspberries for 1 cup of the peaches.
- Peach & Blueberry Cobbler: Sub in blueberries for 1 cup of the peaches.
You get the idea. Don't substitute for more than a cup of the peaches, or your cobbler may turn out too dry.
Equipment
A batter bowl is one of the most versatile and all-round useful pieces of kitchen equipment you can have. We use ours to mix up everything from pancakes, waffles, muffins, quick breads - you name it! It's almost indispensable for this peach cobbler recipe, as it makes pouring batter ribbons into the baking dish a simple and easy task.
Storage
Southern Peach Cobbler is best eaten shortly after it is baked. Cover any leftovers with plastic wrap, and store on the counter or in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Top Tip: Sweeten to Taste
Factors that affect the level of sweetness in a cobbler include the ripeness and relative sweetness of the fruit used, how the cobbler is served, and your personal preferences. You may want to adjust the amount of sugar in this recipe accordingly.
Peaches
If your peaches are very ripe and/or very sweet, or you prefer your desserts less sweet, reduce the amount of granulated sugar added to the sliced peaches by 2 tablespoons.
If your peaches are less sweet, or you prefer your desserts sweeter, increase the amount of brown sugar added to the sliced peaches by 2 tablespoons.
Cobbler Batter
When we were developing this peach cobbler recipe, we took into consideration that it will most likely be eaten with ice cream, which increases the overall level of sweetness. To avoid it becoming cloyingly sweet, we reduced the level of sweetness in the cake batter to be more in line with a sweet biscuit or scone. In other words, the batter bakes up to be sweet, but not so sweet that it overpowers the fresh peach flavors.
If you love your cobbler very sweet, increase the sugar level in the batter with an additional 1 tablespoons each granulated sugar and brown sugar.
FAQ
Peach skins break down during the baking process, so the choice about peeling them or not is a personal preference.
The advantage of not peeling the peaches is they add some beautiful color, flavor, and antioxidants to the cobbler. However, if you are highly sensitive to textures or bitter flavors, peeling them is the way to go.
This Peach Cobbler recipe was shared on the Weekend Potluck! Check it out!
More Fresh Fruit Recipes
If you love fresh peaches, be sure to check our fresh peach custard tart recipe!
- Fresh Peach Custard Tart
- Blueberry Banana Muffins
- Straight-Up Rhubarb Pie
- Easy Apple Strudel (Apfelstrudel)
What to Serve with Peach Cobbler
Peach cobbler is best served warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.
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Southern Peach Cobbler
Equipment
Ingredients
Batter
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cardamom
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg beaten
- ¾ cup milk
Instructions
- Peel peaches if desired. Slice into roughly even slices (about 8-10 per peach). Measure out 4-5 cups of sliced peaches. Keep any liquid that accumulates.Fresh Peaches: Place sliced peaches and accumulated liquid, ½ cup sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, and ¼ teaspoon cardamom in a medium mixing bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.Canned Peaches: Do not drain peaches; you will use the liquid. For peaches in heavy syrup, fold in a ¼ teaspoon of cardamom. For peaches in light syrup, fold in 2 tablespoons brown sugar and a ¼ teaspoon of cardamom.
- Preheat oven to 350℉ (177℃). Slice butter and place in a 9x13 glass baking dish. Place the baking dish in the oven while it preheats.
- Remove baking dish from oven when all the butter has melted.
- Mix the batter while the butter is melting.In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, ¼ cup each sugar and brown sugar, ½ teaspoon cardamom, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.In a large mix-and-pour bowl, beat the egg, and then whisk in the milk.Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the mixture is smooth.
- Slowly pour the batter in over the melted butter in thin ribbons, covering the bottom of the baking dish. Use a spatula only as necessary to distribute the batter evenly. (Avoid stirring. It's totally fine for the batter to have little holes in it. )The baking dish with the melted butter should still be very warm when you pour in the batter; 5-10 minutes out of the oven is perfect. Do not pour the batter into bubbling butter - the pan will be too hot.
- Carefully spoon the prepared peaches and any accumulated juice evenly over the top over the top of the batter.(Canned peaches only: Use up to ¾ cup of the peach liquid.)
- Bake at 350℉ (177℃) for 45-55 minutes. The batter will rise to the top during baking, surrounding the fruit. Bake until the top is golden brown and the center bounces back when gently pressed.
- Serve warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Sweeten to Taste
Factors that affect the level of sweetness in a cobbler include the ripeness and relative sweetness of the fruit used, and how the cobbler will be served, and your personal preferences. You may want to adjust the amount of sugar in this recipe accordingly. PeachesNutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
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