This easy apple cobbler recipe makes a perfect not-too-sweet dessert to savor the apple harvest. Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Originally published in November 2016; this post has been updated.
I grew up on an apple farm. From late August until mid-October we had fresh apples in bowls on the counter, in boxes in the barn, and hanging from the tree. Apples everywhere! An apple a day? Ha! More like half a dozen. And there’s nothing like a freshly harvested apple.
But besides eating them fresh, apples desserts were plentiful during harvest season. This apple cobbler recipe is one we’ve made for years. [And be sure to try my mom’s apple pie recipe, too!]
Easy Apple Cobbler Recipe
Easy Apple Cobbler RecipeThis recipe originally came from one of those community cookbooks created by a coalition of apple farming families. I remember my mom working with a group of women to collect vintage family recipes from all over the apple growing community. The original apple cobbler recipe was much too sweet for our tastes, so I’ve modified this recipe to use less sugar.
What’s the Difference Between a Cobbler and a Crisp?
The difference between an apple cobbler and an apple crisp is in the topping.
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- An apple crisp is topped with a crumbly mixture that usually includes oatmeal or flour, nuts, sugar, and butter. Once baked, the crumbly topping is a bit crispy.
- An apple cobbler is topped with a batter or biscuit dough. The finished product has more of a bread-like consistency.
This is a cobbler, but it does maintain a bit of crispness, which is why we like it.
Ingredients
Apples — I love making apple desserts from Gravenstein apples, but they’re not commonly available. Granny Smith apples are a good choice, as is any other slightly tart apple. Read more about different apple varieties and how they stack up for baking here.
Brown sugar — The rich molasses flavor of brown sugar is delicious in this dessert. Use light or brown sugar, as you like.
Flour — When I bake with all-purpose flour I opt for the unbleached version. Bleached flour is very white, but it’s also treated with bleaching agents that I don’t really need in my food. This recipe can be modified to work for a gluten free diet by substituting cassava flour for the all-purpose flour in this recipe.
Eggs — Fresh eggs, store bought, use what you have readily available.
Butter — Allow the butter to come to room temperature for easy mixing. I used salted butter; if you prefer unsalted, that will work fine.
Seasoning and Leavening — Baking powder gives the cobbler topping a little bit of fluffiness. Salt and cinnamon add just the right amount of spice!
How to Make this Cinnamon Apple Cobbler
Peel, core, and slice apples. Toss with a portion of the cinnamon. Combine the remaining cinnamon with the brown sugar.
Transfer apple slices to a baking dish.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, remaining brown sugar in a bowl.
Add egg and mix. Spread batter over the apple slices.
Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon mixture on top. Melt butter and drizzle evenly over the top. Bake until golden.
Serving
Allow cobbler to cool slightly before serving warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Storing
Leftover cobbler should be transferred to an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Looking for more ways to use your abundant crop? I’ve gathered some of the best apple recipes from my collection for you.
★ Did you make this easy apple cobbler recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below! ★
Easy Apple Cobbler Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 - 8 tart apples peeled, cored, and sliced
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon divided
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar divided
- 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour or cassava flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup butter 1 stick
Instructions
- Combine prepared apples with one teaspoon of the cinnamon. Transfer to a 9" x 13" baking dish.6 - 8 tart apples, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Mix the second teaspoon of cinnamon together with 1/2 cup of brown sugar. Set aside.1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- Combine flour, baking powder, salt, remaining brown sugar, and egg in a small mixing bowl. Spread batter over the apple mixture.1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1 large egg
- Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon mixture over the top.
- Melt butter and drizzle evenly over the top. Bake for 45-50 minutes in a 350 oven until the topping is golden brown and the apples are tender.1/2 cup butter
- Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Notes
- The number of apples you use in this apple cobbler will depend upon their size. Just be sure that your pan is filled to the brim with apples. As the apples cook, they will soften and settle.
- To make this a gluten free apple cobbler, use cassava flour instead of all-purpose flour.
Nutrition
More fruit desserts to try:
Good
Great taste and easy to make needed to use up these apples THANK YOU !
Easy to make and perfect way to end a meal.
Good cobbler
This is delicious, we absolutely loved it! I left an earlier comment about the topping being too dry, and overall it seemed to need more liquid, but I was wrong. After it finished baking and I served it up, my family was wowed! And I couldn’t believe how good it was! Thank you for this very simple and yummy recipe. I’ll absolutely be making it again.
I just made this and I wish I’d read the comments first. It tastes good, but the topping is way too dry. Actually, the entire recipe is way too dry. There was no ‘batter’ to be spread over the top, basically just a dry mixture that I poured over the top of the apples. The melted butter isn’t enough to wet it all, so there is still so much dry mixture. Since it’s the first time I’ve made it, I just followed the recipe exactly as written, but if I’d read the comments first, I would’ve added some liquid to make it a juicier filling and an actual batter to create a crunchy crumble topping. Next time I’ll make some adjustments. Hopefully the ice cream saves this!
Love this recipe
Peggy Smith
yum
Disappointed! Wa Ted the topping to be crunchier.
Not my favorite recipe. The crust comes out better when you mix the butter with the dry ingredients and then crumble it over the top rather than just pouring butter all over it..
Feel free to make it your own!
I just made this today. The batter was pretty dry so I added about 1/4 cup of apple juice and it came out great! How should I store the leftovers?
I’m glad it turned out well for you and you made it your own. Cover it tightly and store it in the refrigerator, I’d aim to eat it within a few days.
Hmmm this didn’t turn out as a cobbler as I expected. The topping was way too dry & crumbly and not batter or biscuit-like at all. I Made for thanksgiving but I’m so glad I made another apple crisp as back up before this one, because I don’t think I’d be confident to serve this. I was not a huge fan of this recipe I’m sorry.
Delicious and easy- the best things about crisps! Cobblers in our area are when you cover the fruit mixture in batter or sweet biscuit topping.
Thanks for sharing!
Wow, my family loves this recipe! My kids went crazy over it.
Glad to hear it! It’s a favorite here, too!
My topping was way to dry no way to spread on top. I finally got agitated and just mixed it in with the apples.
The topping is supposed to be very dry and then you add the butter and this ‘crisps’ it up. Make sure you cover ALL the crumbs with butter.
I made this recipe and it seems like the topping is missing something. Mine turned out like a crumble.
Hm. I wonder what happened?
My grandma used to make this recipe when I was a child in the 60’s and 70’s. I’ve been making it since 1975. Our recipe is a little different as it is made in a 9″ square pan and there is white and brown sugar in ours. I’ve been eating this for almost 60 years. YUM!
This is our recipe:
Carolyn Matheson’s Apple Crisp
6-8 baking apples (I prefer Granny Smith’s or Northern Spy)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 stick (4 oz) butter, melted
Peel, core and slice apples as for pie. Toss apples with brown sugar and cinnamon, blend well. Place evenly in a 9″ x 9′ x 2″ pan.
In separate bowl, Combine sugar, flour and baking powder (you can add some salt, but I prefer not to). Whisk to blend. Add egg and mix well until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over apples. making sure to cover all apples well. Drizzle butter over crumb mixture, making sure to cover entire top (no dry places). Bake at 350F for 40 minutes, until browned and apples are soft.
THIS is apple crisp! your Grandma was right on!
I make apple crisp as my staple dessert but I decided I m going to try the cobbler as it sounds great, the only other ingredient I will add is a fourth tsp of nutmeg….going to make it for new years eve….HAPPY 2019 EVERYONE!
Hope it was great!
So good and easy to make!
Apple crisp is amazing! i will surely try this out.
In our neck of the woods that is a cobbler not crisp. That being said, it is considered dessert, breakfast when grandma wasn’t looking
😉
And yes. The original recipe calls it a crisp, so I stuck with that, but it’s more cobbler like, for sure.
Love this recipe
Why, thank you!