Apple Cobbler has been around in the United States since before the time of the Civil War. Although modern cobblers are slightly different from the antebellum kind, both recipes feature sweetened fruit and delicious breading. Our recipe for Apple Cobbler also adds a delicious crumb topping to the dessert.
Currently, when most people picture cobbler, they think of a dish that has sweetened fruit at the bottom of a deep-dish pie pan or a casserole dish. The fruit is topped with a sweetened biscuit-style dough or a mixture that is something like cake batter. The cobbler is baked and generally served hot, with fruit swimming in delicious juices topped with a crisp-tender crust on the top of the fruit. Often, cobbler is topped with vanilla ice cream or sweetened, flavored whipped cream.
Apple Cobbler with Crumb Topping Recipe
Fall is prime time for crisp mornings, campfires, piles of crunchy leaves, and spicy desserts that perfectly hit the spot. This recipe for Apple Cobbler is wonderful for any occasion, but the flavors of tart-sweet apples and rich cinnamon are particularly wonderful for cool fall evenings.
Equipment
- 9 inch Square Pan
- Medium-Sized Bowl
- Wooden Spoon
- Small bowl
Ingredients
Apple Filling Ingredients
- 5 pc Medium-Sized Apples
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
Cobbler Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Butter or 1 stick
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 cup Milk
- 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
Crumb Topping Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 3/4 cup Flour
- 4 tbsp Butter
- 1 cup Chopped Pecans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Spray a nine-inch square pan with cooking spray.
- Peel and chop the apples into chunks that are about 1 inch in thickness.
- Place the apple pieces in a medium-sized bowl.
- Stir the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt into the apples and toss them with a wooden spoon to coat the fruit in sugar and cinnamon.
- Place the apples in the prepared pan.
- Pour ½ cup water over the apples, gently drizzling it over the surface of the apples, and set the pan aside.
- Next, you will make the crumb topping. In a small bowl, microwave the butter for about 25 seconds to melt it.
- Add the flour and brown sugar to the butter. Use a fork to combine this mixture. It should be rather dry and crumbly.
- Stir in the pecans. Set the crumb topping aside and move on to making the cobbler.
- Using the same medium-sized mixing bowl that you used for the apples, microwave the one stick of butter until it is melted, or about 30 seconds.
- Add the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.
- Whisk in the milk and stir well until it is well combined. The mixture should have the texture of pancake batter, slightly thick but a little runny.
- Pour this mixture over the top of the apples, spreading the batter over all of the apples in a uniform layer. You do not want to stir this into the apples.
- Next, make the crumb topping and sprinkle it all over the top of the cobbler mixture.
- Again, do not stir this mixture together. You should now have three layers in the pan: a layer of apples, a later of cobbler batter, and the crumb topping sprinkled on top.
- Place the pan in your preheated oven and bake at 375 degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown. It is okay if the center is a little jiggly when you remove it.
- Allow the cobber to cool for about 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm.
- You can top the cobbler with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream if you desire, or you can simply serve it alone.
- Leftovers can be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- To reheat, you can microwave each serving in a bowl for about 45 seconds. However, for best results in reheating, place the entire dish back in the oven, heated to 350 degrees, for 20 minutes or so.
Notes
Cobbler has been around in America since before the Civil War. However, it seems like antebellum cobbler was a little bit different from what modern bakers consider cobbler. Records say that a cobbler back then consisted of a layer of pastry on the bottom of a baking pan, sweetened fruit on the top of the pastry, and a crust on top of the fruit. It sounds like cobbler way back then was what we consider today to be a pie!
Cobbler can be made from a variety of fruits. Cherry and peach are favorite flavors of a cobbler, but today, we are sharing a recipe for Apple Cobbler. Our Apple Cobbler is a little different from a classic cobbler recipe in that it has a crumb topping on top of the sweetened batter. This crumb topping includes nuts. We chose pecans, but if you prefer another kind of nut, it would likely be just as delicious. Walnuts or almonds will probably make a great cobbler as well! The crumb topping adds a layer of crunchy texture to the dessert that we are certain you will love.
When choosing apples for a cobbler, you want to choose wisely. Not every apple holds up well in the oven. Some varieties dissolve into the equivalent of applesauce when heated, which is not going to be appealing for this dessert. Any firm cooking apple will do.
Granny Smith and Golden Delicious are classic varieties for baked apple desserts, but some apples that are considered good raw eating apples may be great choices too. Honeycrisp and Jonagold make fabulous cobblers. To add to the flavor complexity, use two different kinds of apples, mixing them together in the cobbler. We used Granny Smith apples, along with Honeycrisp apples, in our cobbler.
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