By Melissa Clark
Updated Aug. 16, 2024
- Total Time
- 70 to 80 minutes
- Prep Time
- 10 minutes
- Cook Time
- 60 to 70 minutes
- Rating
- 5(56)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This easy peach cobbler is made by layering ripe, juicy fruit over batter rather than nestling it under biscuits or pie dough, giving it a tender, cakelike texture. Browning the butter before merging it with the batter adds nutty, caramelized notes, while buttermilk gives it a lovely tang. Fresh summer peaches (or other stone fruit like nectarines, apricots and plums) are ideal here, but frozen fruit also works well. Serve this warm or at room temperature, preferably on the same day as baking.
Featured in: Peach Cobbler, 2 Ways: Spectacularly Simple and Simply Spectacular
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Ingredients
Yield:6 to 8 servings
- 2pounds fresh peaches, pitted and sliced (peeling is optional), or 6 cups frozen peach slices
- ½cup/110 grams packed dark brown sugar
- 2 to 3teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- ½cup/113 grams unsalted butter
- 1½cups/187 grams all-purpose flour
- 1cup/200 grams granulated sugar, more for sprinkling
- 1tablespoon baking powder
- 1teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1½cups/355 milliliters buttermilk
- ½ to 1teaspoon flavoring, such as freshly grated nutmeg, citrus zest, ground cinnamon, ginger or vanilla, or ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
399 calories; 12 grams fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 70 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 50 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 501 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large (10- to 12-inch) well-seasoned cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium heat, combine the peaches, brown sugar and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the sugar melts and the liquid thickens slightly, 2 to 4 minutes. Pour peaches and liquid into a bowl and set aside. Taste a peach slice; if it seems flat, add another squeeze or two of lemon until bright and lively.
Step
2
Using the same pan (you don’t need to wipe it out), melt the butter over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally, and let it cook until it smells very nutty, turns golden brown and flecks of dark amber appear, 2 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and reserve the brown butter in the pan.
Step
3
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour in buttermilk and any flavorings you like, and mix just until combined.
Step
4
Scrape the batter on top of the brown butter in the pan, but don’t mix it in. The butter will rise and cover some of the batter at the pan’s edges, and this is good. Scatter the peach slices and their juices on top of the batter without stirring. Sprinkle with a little more sugar if you like, for crunch.
Step
5
Bake until the cobbler is golden brown on top, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Ratings
5
out of 5
56
user ratings
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Cooking Notes
Golem
What exactly is a "large" pan? I have 10" and a 12" cast iron pans and 15" stainless steel and non-stick pans. I'm assuming this calls for a 10" pan but if it's for a 12" pan then the ingredients will overflow in a 10" pan and make a mess either in the oven or on a sheet pan.Other readers have complained in the past about imprecise measurements such as large, small, medium and whatever. It should be easy enough in the recipe to indicated what size pan the author used.
Baker Lee
Brown the butter after making the batter because the butter will continue to cook and burn after you’ve taken it off the heat. This way you can pour the batter into the browned butter as soon as the butter reaches the correct level of brown ness.
RLV
How big is a "large cast-iron skillet?"
Tracey T
I asked Melissa and she responded that the large skillet is 10 to 12 inches.
Ceilidth
Ripe peaches need almost no sugar, brown or white. A cup and a half of sugar destroys the peach flavor. A biscuit based cobbler soaks up the juice of the ripe peaches and is sweet enough without more than a tablespoon or two of sugar in the batter.
Mary
I like my cobbler made this way also with melted butter first, then the batter, and then the fruit mixture, especially peaches. This year, I’ve added a tsp of bourbon (I live in KY, lol) or Amaretto to the simmered peach mixture. It gives a very subtle smoky enhancement to the peaches.
djk
Oh my , so much chatter about pan size , we just want to know if it tastes good
Scott R
This is simply delicious. I was sure my larger large cast iron skillet (12") would be too big, so I used my 10", and it all fit, but just barely. That said, I like how deep the cobbler is this way. I can't imagine that a more complicated cobbler recipe would necessarily be more delicious. A weeknight winner.
brian
using other recipes as a guide - I would guess 10-10.5 inches skillet. Using the relative size of a spoon and bowl to the skillet in the photo I would assume the same. None the less I dont understand not specifying -- a recipe shouldn't be a guessing game.
glammie
Pan sizes are standardized - 8", 10" or 12". I think a 10" should do the trick. Using a sheet pan is a good idea, and if it overflows, take a breath, chillax and remember that baking is a metaphor for life. It can be messy and you're bound to dirty a few pans in the process.
Susan Sater
Yum! Many receipts like this are around, but I think this is the best I have tried. This is the one I will go to for an easy cobbler. And I plan to make the peach mixture (I confess I used nectarines...), cool it, and put it in the freezer for a winter treat!
Kim
did not like this pastry. was rubbery and tasteless.
ann porotti
2 Tb brown sugar1/2 cup white sugarAll other ingredients as written, dry in grams350 for 45 mins. No xtra sugar on top , or spice— maybe lemon zest & cinnamon or grated ginger in future. 10 “ cast iron perfect size
stan
I had beautiful ripe peaches from the farmers market, but they made a lot of juice. Even after 65 min in the oven, the “biscuit” layer underneath was a gluey, sodden mess. Peaches were great, but I’ll stick to the classic prep with the fruit underneath.
Diane
Delicious!!I went with a 12" pan and wouldn't go smaller.I had no issue with the browned butter burning - cooked for 60min. My daughter has a sweet tooth so we followed the recipe today, but I would happily use half as much sugar next time. I think that it's too sweet to be served with ice cream. However some whipped up heavy cream would be delicious!!! I just have any in my fridge.Will make again.
Carolina
A title with EASY in it, this recipe is NOT. But it is delicious.
Barbara
Can this be made with plums?
Daisy
This is the best dessert I've ever had! We halved the sugar.
Tracey T
Made as directed, using a 10” cast iron skillet (2” deep). The batter came up almost to the top, so peaches sank and were covered by the batter. The finished look of the cobbler is more of a rustic cake, with the top entirely “cake” (because of the vanished peaches. But the flavor is good, and the peaches are both whole and yet “jammy.” I will likely try the non-stick 12” next time! And I switched the order of steps 2 and 3 as another baker directed - avoiding butter burn.
dextertracy
I wanted to use my small, countertop oven because of the heat, so needed to use a smaller pan. I used my 3 quart high sided LeCreuset (8" wide and 3.5" tall) to handle the overflow and otherwise followed the recipe. Delicious, quick and easy, and simple enough to riff on without fear. Thanks, Melissa!
R. Katzin.
Please answer: Can I make this with frozen cherries. or frozen blue berries or raspberries or blackberries? NYT, please answer. Thanks
Preston
I see a number of people have asked what size pan to use. Being an amateur, I used a 10" cast iron skillet. It overflowed significantly. Lots of smoke and no cobbler. Rats!
ada's kid
Can I use an all-purpose cast iron skillet - we use it for everything, including frying fish... Will I get fishy peach cobbler???
djk
Oh my , so much chatter about pan size , we just want to know if it tastes good
dimmerswitch
For questions about this recipe re pan sizes, substitutions and techniques, it is helpful to watch Melissa Clark cook this in the NYT Cooking youtube video, a link to which I'll insert here. This recipe is the first 9 minutes of the video. Melissa doesn't address pan size specifically, but it looks about 12" to me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsOvlVKk06U&t=120s
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