This easy cherry cobbler has a lightly cinnamony, thick, and juicy tart cherry filling topped with lightly sweetened, golden brown biscuits. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and you’ve got the perfect dessert for summer!
What is Cobbler?
Cobbler is a fruit-based dessert featuring a baked fruit filling topped with a layer of lightly sweet biscuit. Some recipes, especially southern recipes, may feature a bottom crust as well, similar to a pie.
Cherry Cobbler Ingredients
- Cherries – fresh cherries are the best option when they are in season (early summer). However, frozen cherries work as well, but are a second choice.
- Sugar – We dialed back on the sugar to allow the cherries, which are naturally sweet, to dominate this dessert.
- Cornstarch – thickening agent in this recipe, which results in an irresistible thick berry layer.
- Whole wheat flour – this recipe calls for 50/50 split between white whole wheat and unbleached all-purpose flour to retain a little extra macro nutrients.
- Lemon juice and zest – the sharp citrus flavor from lemons brightens the berry mixture and balances the sweetness of the cherries.
- Chilled butter – this recipe uses lower-fat vegan butter to keep the fat content down. The biscuit is slightly cakier, but is worth the discount in calories. You can also use unsalted butter, which will yield a bit of a flakier biscuit.
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How to Make Cherry Cobbler
We highly recommend using fresh tart or sweet cherries for this recipe. You will need to remove the pits from the cherries. We love using a basic cherry pitter to do this. If you are using sweet cherries, you may want to cut them in half since they are considerably larger than tart cherries. For frozen berries, do not thaw prior to making the filling.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a medium sauce pan, dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water. Add the cherries, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and cinnamon. Mix well to incorporate all of the ingredients.
Cook the cherry mixture over medium-low heat until thickened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the cooked berries to (6) 7-oz ramekins (for mini cobblers, pictured above) or an 8 inch square baking dish or 1½ quart oval baking dish (for regular cobbler). Set aside.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix with a fork to combine. Cut in 4 tablespoons of chilled and cubed butter with a pastry cutter. Work the butter in until the dough resembles small pebbles or wet sand. Stir in the boiling water and mix to incorporate.
Transfer the biscuit dough to a sheet of parchment paper. Divide the dough into six roughly equal pieces and flatten with your palm to form round biscuits about ½ inch thick. The dough will be slightly sticky, so you may need to refrigerate it a few minutes before forming. For the stars and stripes (pictured in blog) use a cookie cutter or sharp knife to cut out stars and thin strips of dough.
Evenly place the biscuits on top of the berry mixture. The biscuits should cover the majority of the berries in both the ramekins and the full size baking dish. For the stars and stripes, alternate adding all stars and a single star with stripes (like an American flag).
Bake the mini cobblers 18 to 22 minutes, or until the berries are bubbling and the biscuits are lightly golden brown. For regular cobbler, bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the berries are bubbling and the biscuits are lightly golden brown. Note that depending on your oven, this cobbler could take longer to bake. Use the browning and bubbling as an indicator that the cobbler is done. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 20 minutes to let the filling thicken. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!
Tips for Making Cherry Cobbler
- Use tart cherries if possible – we recommend using tart cherries for this recipe. But sweet cherries work really well too. The cobbler will be a little sweeter though. The bake time may differ slightly for tart and sweet cherry varieties. Use the color of the biscuits and bubbling of the fruit as an indicator (as detailed below).
- Use fresh cherries – Using fresh berries will likely result in a cobbler with larger, more robust fruit chunks, whereas frozen berries will break down more easily and result in a more jammy cobbler. Frozen berries are quicker to bake. Do not use canned cherries or cherry pie filling!
- Don’t completely cover the fruit filling – no doubt the biscuit topping is delicious and while it may be tempting to cover the entire fruit layer with biscuit, don’t do that. It will prevent the steam from being able to leave the filling and will steam the biscuit and fruit. The result will be very wet and soggy cobbler.
- Let the cobbler rest – it may be tempting to serve the cobbler right out of the oven (who doesn’t love melty ice cream??); however, let the cobbler rest for 20 minutes before serving. This cooling time will allow the fruit filling to thicken up.
- Use color and bubbling to check for doneness – Baking time will vary based on your oven and whether you are doing mini or full size cobbler. The key indicators of a cooked cobbler are bubbling around the edges and a lightly golden brown biscuit top. If your biscuits brown before your berries are bubbling, you may want to cover the top with a layer of foil to prevent further browning while the cobbler finishes. Or you can turn the oven temperature down to 375F.
How to Store Cobbler
Refrigerate: allow the cobbler to cool fully before refrigerating. This cobbler will keep for up to 5 days, but is best when served fresh, as the biscuits will become soggy with time. Reheat as needed.
Freeze: allow the cobbler to cool completely after baking. Cover with plastic wrap and foil and freeze for 2 to 3 months. To serve, thaw the cobbler overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat covered with foil at 350F for 10 to 15 minutes, until warm. Or you can microwave individual portions, as desired. Note that freezing a fully assembled cobbler will have soggier biscuits.
Another option is to mix and cook the cobbler filling over the stove top. Cool the filling completely and then freeze it in a freezer bag. When you are ready to make the cobbler, thaw the filling overnight in the refrigerator. Then transfer it to an oven-safe dish and follow the instructions for making the biscuits and cooking the cobbler according to the original recipe.
Let us know what you think about this recipe for Cherry Cobbler by dropping a comment and/or rating below! We love to hear from you! Also, please share on Pinterest if you enjoyed this recipe!
Cherry Cobbler: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- What is the difference between cherry pie and cherry cobbler – pies are made with pastry dough lining the bottom and sides of the pan and sometimes over the top of the filling as well. Conversely, cobblers feature berry filling that is topped with sweet biscuit dough and don’t typically have a bottom or side crust.
- What is cherry cobbler made of – cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, water, flour, butter, and salt. The result is a juicy fruit filling and a lightly sweet biscuit topping.
- How do you make cobbler not runny – add cornstarch to the berry mixture to make it thicker and less runny. You can also use fresh berries instead of frozen, as they will have lower water content and result in a more robust filling.
- Can I freeze cobbler – yes! But it’s best to make the berry filling only and not the biscuits, as the biscuits will not raise well once frozen. Allow the filling to cool, then freeze it up to 3 months. When you want to make the cobbler, thaw the filling in the fridge overnight, then make the biscuit dough fresh and proceed as written in the recipe.
- Can I use frozen berries in cobbler – yes! We use frozen cherries in the winter when fresh cherries aren’t as readily available or juicy. Just note that the cobbler may be a little runnier than when using fresh berries.
Check out our other healthy dessert recipes
- Blackberry Cobbler
- Avocado Brownies
- Chocolate Hazelnut Avocado Mousse
- Mixed Berry Cobbler
- Dark Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies
- Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
Cherry Cobbler
Ingredients
Cherry Filling
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- ¼ c cold water
- 2 lbs tart or sweet cherries, pitted
- â…“ c sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 lemon, zested
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Biscuits
- ½ c white whole wheat flour
- ½ c unbleached all-purpose flour
- â…“ c sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 Tbsp vegan, low-fat, or unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- ¼ c boiling water
Instructions
- For fresh cherries, use a cherry pitter to remove the pits. If you are using sweet cherries, you may want to cut them in half since they are considerably larger than tart cherries. For frozen berries, do not thaw prior to making the filling.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a medium sauce pan, dissolve the cornstarch in the cold water. Add the cherries, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and cinnamon. Mix well to incorporate all of the ingredients.
- Cook the cherry mixture over medium-low heat until thickened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the cooked berries to (6) 7-oz ramekins (for mini cobblers, pictured above) or an 8 inch square baking dish or 1½ quart oval baking dish (for regular cobbler). Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix with a fork to combine. Cut in 4 tablespoons of chilled and cubed butter with a pastry cutter. Work the butter in until the dough resembles small pebbles or wet sand. Stir in the boiling water and mix to incorporate.
- Transfer the biscuit dough to a sheet of parchment paper. Divide the dough into six roughly equal pieces and flatten with your palm to form round biscuits about ½ inch thick. The dough will be slightly sticky, so you may need to refrigerate it a few minutes before forming. For the stars and stripes (pictured in blog) use a cookie cutter or sharp knife to cut out stars and to cut thin strips of dough.
- Evenly place the biscuits on top of the berry mixture. The biscuits should cover the majority of the berries in both the ramekins and the full size baking dish.
- For mini cobblers, bake 18 to 22 minutes, or until the berries are bubbling and the biscuits are lightly golden brown. For regular cobbler, bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the berries are bubbling and the biscuits are lightly golden brown. Note that depending on your oven, this cobbler could take longer to bake. Use the browning and bubbling as an indicator that the cobbler is done. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 20 minutes to let the filling thicken. Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream!
Notes
- What is the difference between cherry pie and cherry cobbler – pies are made with pastry dough lining the bottom and sides of the pan and sometimes over the top of the filling as well. Conversely, cobblers feature berry filling that is topped with sweet biscuit dough and don’t typically have a bottom or side crust.
- What is cherry cobbler made of – cherries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, water, flour, butter, and salt. The result is a juicy fruit filling and a lightly sweet biscuit topping.
- How do you make cobbler not runny – add cornstarch to the berry mixture to make it thicker and less runny. You can also use fresh berries instead of frozen, as they will have lower water content and result in a more robust filling.
- Can I freeze cobbler – yes! But it’s best to make the berry filling only and not the biscuits, as the biscuits will not raise well once frozen. Allow the filling to cool, then freeze it up to 3 months. When you want to make the cobbler, thaw the filling in the fridge overnight, then make the biscuit dough fresh and proceed as written in the recipe.
- Can I use frozen berries in cobbler – yes! We use frozen cherries in the winter when fresh cherries aren’t as readily available or juicy. Just note that the cobbler may be a little runnier than when using fresh berries.
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