This Southern girl knows a little something about peach cobbler, and this quintessential Southern dessert is fresh as can be with sweet, jammy peaches, plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a salty biscuit dough on top. This dessert will be your go-to summer peach cobbler recipe!
It's SUMMERTIME! We've been having a busy summer filled with various travels, spending time with friends and family, and just generally loving the slower pace of life that exists when you don't have the kids' crazy schedules dictate your lives. Summertime has also brought us a ton of peaches courtesy of The Peach Truck. I went a little nuts this year and ordered a carton of peaches every single week of summer. That's a lot of peaches always being delivered, and I ain't mad about it.
I have to admit I was a little embarrassed that I did not have a peach cobbler recipe on the blog sooner. This is a Southern food blog, after all. And while there are quite a bit of peach recipes on the website (have you tried the peach burrata salad yet?), I didn't have the most Southern of all Southern desserts. This is now remedied, and I hope you love it.
Why You'll Love This Southern Peach Cobbler
It's really a "cobbluh" if you're from the South (as a general rule, we don't pronounce the "r's" if they're at the end of a word nor "g's" like singin', dancin', you get the picture...). Regardless of how you pronounce it, you're going to love this quintessential Southern recipe that's the perfect porch-sittin' dessert to enjoy while listening to the cicadas and bullfrogs (can those darn things shut up every now and then?!).
Here is what makes this Southern peach cobbler recipe stand out:
- This peach cobbler is healthier than most. When you're working with fruit in desserts, I don't like to drown the peaches with a ton of sugar. Fruits have so much natural sugar. This cobbler recipe has just enough to add a little extra sweetness. This isn't the cobbler for you if you want something super sweet.
- Hello, small batch peach cobbler! It'll make enough for a 4-6 people. I think cobbler is best eaten soon after it comes out of the oven, while it's still a bit warm and ice cream on top melts just a tad.
- This peach cobbler is easy peasy! This Southern cobbler recipe requires 10 minutes of preparation. The oven does the rest of the work. It also involves ingredients you likely have right now.
- Peach cobbler is a quintessential Southern summertime dessert. Peaches are one of the most delicious fruits IMHO. When you've got peaches in season, you can't afford NOT to make this.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Southern Peach Cobbler
- Cobbler vs. Crumble vs. Crisp
- Ingredients You'll Need
- The Easiest Way to Peel Peaches
- How to Make Southern Peach Cobbler: A Step-by-Step Guide
- Worn Slap Out? Follow These Time Saving Tricks!
- How to Store and Reheat Peach Cobbler
- FAQ
- Other Peach Recipes You'll Love
- Southern Peach Cobbler
Cobbler vs. Crumble vs. Crisp
What's the friggin' difference? A cobbler, crumble, and a crisp all involve baked fruit with some kind of pastry topping. What really matters though is that this dessert is lick-the-plate good, which is possible with all of the options below. Here are the basic differences between cobblers, crisps and crumbles:
- Cobbler -- Unlike crisps and crumbles, cobblers have a biscuit topping. The dough is dropped on top of the cooked fruit, which makes the appearance of a cobbled road, hence the name. That's fun, right?
- Crumble -- A crumble is also a baked fruit dish like the cobbler but crumbles have a streusel-like topping on top, like the streusel in these to-die-for blueberry muffins.
- Crisp -- A crisp is very similar to a crumble except the streusel-like topping in a crisp contains oats. The oats crisp up in the oven making a crunchy topping to the fruit.
Ingredients You'll Need
You'll need to prepare the ingredients below to set you up for success in making the best Southern peach cobbler around. You'll notice there are two sets of ingredients, one for the peach mixture ingredients and another for the biscuit-like dough!
For the peach filling:
- fresh peaches
- fresh lemon juice
- granulated sugar
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- cornstarch or arrowroot
For the biscuit dough on top:
- all-purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- brown sugar
- baking powder
- salt
- unsalted butter
- boiling water
You can take a look at the full recipe card below for the quantities!
The Easiest Way to Peel Peaches
I almost never peel peaches. I find when you're baking peaches, the skin seems to melt away in the dessert, and if it doesn't, it doesn't bother me in the least. This is definitely a personal preference though.
If you want to take the skin off your peaches, simply boil 2-3 peaches at a time for about 30 seconds and transfer immediately to an ice bath. From there, the peach skins should slide right off! This is an easier method than trying to take the peel off with a knife.
How to Make Southern Peach Cobbler: A Step-by-Step Guide
Making an award-winning peach cobbler requires just a few basic steps!
- Step 1: Pour lemon juice on peaches. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, sugars, spices, and cornstarch together.
- Step 2: Toss flour mixture with peaches and bake.
- Step 3: Meanwhile, combine all of the dough ingredients except for water. Use fork or pastry cutter to cut butter into dough.
- Step 4: Add boiling water and stir with a fork until just combined.
- Step 5: Scoop balls of dough onto peaches. Cover with more cinnamon and sugar (optional).
- Step 6: Bake for about 25 minutes and enjoy!
You're going to want to stop after Step 2 because your kitchen is going to smell like heaven. I encourage you to push through and finish the drill. The reward waiting is well worth it!
Worn Slap Out? Follow These Time Saving Tricks!
Sometimes in life you have to take shortcuts. Not only is that encouraged but it should be celebrated that you know what you need. Here are a couple of shortcuts you can take for this recipe:
- Use Bisquick for the dough - If you don't have time to make the homemade biscuit dough that goes on top, just use that little yellow box of Bisquick instead.
- Use frozen peaches - Maybe peach season has come and gone or maybe you want already-peeled peach slices cut into uniform pieces. Get the equivalent of 4 cups of peaches together and add a little more sugar because frozen peaches often aren't as sweet as fresh peaches, particularly ripe peaches.
How to Store and Reheat Peach Cobbler
Peach cobbler is definitely best when it's just been baked. If you have leftovers though, they can certainly be reheated. Place the baking dish in a 350˚F oven for about 15 minutes. If the biscuits on top are getting too browned, you can cover with aluminum foil.
FAQ
I would freeze the peaches for peach cobbler and then make the dough fresh. This means add your lemon juice to the peaches, toss in the sugars, spices, and cornstarch, and place this in a freezer bag. When you're ready to make yoru peach cobbler, take the peaches out of the freezer to dethaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then you're ready to complete the recipe! Yeah! Fresh peach cobbler all year round!
A scoop of vanilla ice cream is my favorite, but you could also serve with whipping cream. Feel free to top the ice cream with pecans or walnuts for an extra bit of flourish on top.
Absolutely. If you doubel the recipe, you'll want to put the peach cobbler in a 9x13" baking dish.
Other Peach Recipes You'll Love
Check out my other dessert recipes. There are so many beautiful peach desserts to make!
Southern Peach Cobbler
Ingredients
Peach Filling
- 4 fresh peaches* pitted and sliced into wedges
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch or arrowroot
Biscuit Dough Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter chilled and cubed
- ¼ cup boiling water
Extra Topping (optional)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- In a large bowl, combine the peaches and the lemon juice and then add the rest of the peach filling ingredients. Stir to coat and then pour into a 2 quart baking dish or 9x9-inch cake pan. Bake the peach mixture for 10 minutes.
- While the peaches are in the oven, combine the topping ingredients except the water together and whisk. Add the cubed butter in the flour mixture. Using your hands, a fork, or a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour mixture. It should still have plenty of butter clumps.
- Stir in the boiling water and mix with a fork until just combined. It should resemble a dough. If it's too dry, add a bit more water.
- Remove the peaches from the oven, giving the peaches a quick stir. Drop the topping over the peaches using a spoon or cookie scoop. Sprinkle the topping with a combination of cinnamon and sugar (optional).
- Bake until the cobbler is golden and the peaches are bubbly, about 25 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Enjoy!
Let Me Know What You Think!