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Celebrate fall’s best apples with this easy homemade Apple Cobbler Recipe. The from-scratch topping is ready in minutes and bakes up soft, chewy, and golden brown. It’s the perfect dessert to wind down a chilly fall day.
This easy Apple Cobbler Recipe is the perfect dessert for fall weekends. It’s exactly what you want baking in your oven (so your house smells like apples and spices) and more importantly, it’s what you want in the bowl in front of you: warm, sugar apples topped with a soft, pillowy golden brown biscuit topping.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Apples: Choose “baking apples” that hold their shape when cooked such as Braeburn, Cortland, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, and Honeycrisp apples. Take a look at my tutorial on how to peel and cut perfect apple slices if you need assistance in that area.
- Butter: To soften butter in the microwave, cut each stick of butter in half, unwrap, and place on a microwave-safe plate. Then cook the butter at 10% power for 1 minute. Gently press on the butter with your finger, and if it still feels too firm, cook for another 40 seconds at 10% power.
- Vanilla ice cream: Store-bought or homemade; either is a treat. Whipped cream would also be dreamy.
Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, add apples, apple juice, and sugar. Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir to combine, then pour into a 9-inch square or round baking dish.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working in batches, add ⅓ of the flour mixture at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Drop rounded tablespoons of batter over the apple mixture (I like to use the OXO small scoop, a #70 portion scoop, heaped).
- Bake until the topping is golden brown and the filling is hot and bubbly, about 35 to 40 minutes.
- Cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve with ice cream if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 6 cups of Apple Cobbler, enough for 6 (1-cup) servings.
- Storage: Leftover cobbler is safe covered at room temperature the same day you bake it. Beyond that, store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 more days. Reheat if desired before serving.
- Freezer: Bake the cobbler according to the recipe, then cool completely, wrap in freeze-safe plastic wrap or foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat before serving.
- Apple Crisp: This glorious dessert, made from scratch with buttery oats and streusel topping, is the easiest, most outstanding way to celebrate the season.
- Apple Filling: Put your leftover apples to work in homemade Apple Pie Filling. The apples are sweetened with a combination of both white sugar and brown sugar mixed with cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.
- Apple Walnut Cobbler: This dessert is like an upside-down apple pie topped with a rich caramel sauce studded with walnuts. Enjoy this cozy fall dessert recipe warm and with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
- Blackberry Cobbler: Showcase your crop of summer’s juiciest blackberries with this easy fruit cobbler recipe. Toss the berries in orange juice for sweetness, then bake until hot and bubbly.
- Blueberry Cobbler: This from-scratch Blueberry Cobbler recipe is ready in under an hour, and it’s even better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
- Cherry Cobbler: This delicious Cherry Cobbler is ready for the oven with just 10 minutes of prep. You’ll love the from-scratch buttery topping baked until golden brown and the piping hot, bubbling cherries beneath.
- Peach Cobbler: When peaches are in season, there’s no better dessert than a warm Peach Cobbler, fresh from the oven, with a scoop of ice cream.
- Pear Cobbler: Transform fresh pears into a luscious dessert worthy of any dinner party, brunch, or weeknight meal. It’s a great way to celebrate this juicy fruit during their short seasonal window.
- Strawberry Cobbler: Put summer’s best strawberries to work in this delicious Strawberry Cobbler. Or do a mix of all your favorite berries! The homemade topping is ready in about 5 minutes, then bake to bubbly berry perfection.
Frequently Asked Questions
For the most successful apple crumble, pies, tarts, and other baked apple desserts, choose apples that are firm enough to hold their shape when cooked. Known as “baking apples,” choose varieties such as Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala apples, Honeycrisp, and Granny Smith apples.
Apples turn brown when their cut sides are exposed to oxygen. There are a few methods for slowing the oxidation of apples. Always dry your apples on paper towel or a clean kitchen towel after draining.
Salt water: Soak cut apples in a bowl of cold water with 2 cups water + ¼ teaspoon salt for 5 minutes, then rinse and store (will prevent oxidation for 5 to 7 days).
Citrus water: Soak cut apple in a bowl of water: 2 cups water + 2 tablespoons lemon, lime, orange, or pineapple juice. The lemon water (or other flavored water) may flavor the apples.
Soda method: Soak cut apples in lemon-lime soda such as 7Up or Sprite for 10 minutes, drain and store (will prevent oxidation for 2 to 3 days). Lemon juice works too, but it’s not as potent.
Crumbles are similar to crisps in that they often contain oats and nuts or an oatmeal streusel topping. Cobblers, on the other hand, contain a soft cake-like topping that is uniform in texture.
More apple recipes
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Apple Cobbler Recipe
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 3 pounds apples peeled and sliced (about 4 cups, see note 1)
- 1/3 cup apple juice
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the topping:
- 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch Salt
- 1/2 cup butter softened (see note 2)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Vanilla ice cream for serving, optional (see note 3)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium bowl, add apples, apple juice, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir to combine, then pour into a 9-inch square or round baking dish.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Beat in egg and vanilla extract. Working in batches, add ⅓ of the flour mixture at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Drop rounded tablespoons of batter over the apple mixture (I like to use the OXO small scoop, a #70 portion scoop, heaped).
- Bake until the topping is golden brown and the filling is hot and bubbly, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving. Serve with ice cream if desired.
Notes
- Apples: Choose “baking apples” that hold their shape when cooked such as Braeburn, Cortland, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, and Honeycrisp apples. Take a look at my tutorial on how to cut apples if you need assistance in that area.
- Butter: To soften butter in the microwave, cut each stick of butter in half, unwrap, and place on a microwave-safe plate. Then cook the butter at 10% power for 1 minute. Gently press on the butter with your finger, and if it still feels too firm, cook for another 40 seconds at 10% power.
- Vanilla ice cream: Store-bought or homemade; either is a treat. Whipped cream would also be dreamy.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 6 cups of Apple Cobbler, enough for 6 (1-cup) servings.
- Storage: Leftover cobbler is safe covered at room temperature the same day you bake it. Beyond that, store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 more days. Reheat if desired before serving.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.