The Best Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler

This Dutch oven peach cobbler is absolutely delicious and a nod to old fashioned farmhouse cooking. A dash of cardamom perfectly compliments ripe summer peaches while the biscuit crust gives the cobbler substance.

Love cobbler? Be sure to try this gluten free strawberry cobbler!

Contributed by Devon Young

fresh peach cobbler in a cast iron dish

Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler? Yes, please!

I will take a pie or cobbler any day of the week. And twice on Sundays.

The truth is, I often find cake — resplendent in frosting and often quite voluminous in size — too sweet and, well, too much. Pie and cobblers let the fruit shine in the starring role. Perhaps my favorite end of summer dessert is peach cobbler. Perfectly sweet and juicy, this is a dessert that is best enjoyed on the front porch with the evening breeze. Preferably on a porch swing. Preferably with homemade vanilla ice cream. Porch swing and ice cream notwithstanding, this peach cobbler is a special treat no matter how you choose to enjoy it!

Best Peaches for Baking

Not all peaches are created equal, and any peach connoisseur is likely to have a favorite variety for all their various recipes. Personally, I prefer to use freestone peaches as opposed to clingstone so that I don’t find myself wrestling with stubborn pits and tender flesh. Besides freestone characteristics, the best peaches for baking should:

  • Be bruise resistant
  • Have low acidity
  • Be easily peeled
  • Have firm flesh
  • Have great, pleasing flavor

As such my favorite varieties of peaches for this old fashioned peach cobbler are:

  • Elberta & Improved Elberta
  • Empress
  • Indian Free
  • Red Haven
  • Rio Oso Gem
  • Sun High
  • Sweet Dreams

Skillet Apple Pie: How to Make Apple Pie in Cast Iron

Dutch Oven Peach Cobbler Recipe

Peach cobbler is an old fashioned dessert, and as such it calls for an old fashioned cooking method. A cast iron dutch oven ensures a well baked biscuit, warm juicy peaches, and a spectacular farmhouse presentation. A 10” cast iron dutch oven — or even a deep cast iron pan — with matching lid is perfect  for this recipe. Personally, I prefer a well-seasoned cast iron, but a modern enameled dutch oven will work as well.

I was brought up on cobblers that were simply sweetened fruit and thickened juices at the bottom and a biscuit topping above. Perfectly tasty, if maybe a bit soupy and messy. This dutch oven peach cobbler solves the soupy problem by placing most of the biscuit on the bottom of the pre-heated cast iron pan (with ample melted butter, of course). The result is a biscuit that browns beautifully before rising through the peaches to the surface. While some cobbler recipes place the entirety of the biscuit batter on the bottom, I reserve ⅓ of the mixture to top the fruit before placing the lid on the Dutch oven for baking.

If you chose your peaches well, they will need little doctoring for this dutch oven peach cobbler. A little sugar, a little flour, and a dash of cardamom seeds are heated until thickened before baking, making for some peachy richness that everyone will enjoy.

cobbler in a cast iron pan

★ Did you make this old fashioned peach cobbler recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below! ★

fresh peach cobbler in a cast iron dish

Old Fashioned Peach Cobbler in a Dutch Oven

Yield: 8

Perhaps the perfect summertime dessert, this cobbler features biscuit dough on the top AND bottom.

Ingredients

For Peach Mixture

  • 4 cups sliced peaches, sliced and pitted
  • ¼-½ cup organic sugar or honey, depending on the sweetness of your fruit
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds

For the Pan

  • 6 tablespoons butter

For Biscuit Topping

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1.5 tablespoons baking powder
  • ½ cup organic sugar, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ cup whole milk

Instructions

  1. In a medium saucepan, add fresh peach slices, ¼ - ½ cup sugar or honey, ¼ cup flour and cardamom. Bring to simmer over medium heat, and cook for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  3. Place butter in a 10” or similarly sized Dutch oven and place in preheating oven.
  4. Meanwhile, combine the remaining flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder, salt. Stir in whole milk to form a thick batter, but do not over mix.
  5. Carefully remove the preheated Dutch oven from the oven and spoon approximately 2/3 of the batter into the bottom of the pan. Don’t worry about spreading as it will self level during baking.
  6. Spoon the peach mixture over batter, then top with remaining biscuit batter. Place lid on the Dutch oven (using mitts of course).  raw batter on peach mixture
  7. Return to oven and cook covered for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove the cover and cook for an additional 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
  8. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving. Serve warm cobbler with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for optimum enjoyment. old fashioned peach cobbler in cast iron dutch oven

Notes

If you don't have a cast iron pan or Dutch oven, use an oven-safe baking dish.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 308Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 27mgSodium: 170mgCarbohydrates: 50gFiber: 2gSugar: 28gProtein: 5g

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About the author: Devon Young is the founder of the website NittyGrittyLife.com where she writes on herbalism, foraging, homesteading and cooking from scratch, and the author of The Backyard Herbal Apothecary (April 2019).  Devon has a degree in Complementary and Alternative Medicine from the American College of Healthcare Sciences and devotes much of her time to speaking with clients and making herbal remedies.   When not tending to her duties as an herbalist, author and blogger, Devon can probably be found gardening, dreaming about gardening, or asking for obscure plants at gardening centers.

11 comments… add one
  • Nancy Jul 14, 2023 @ 6:49

    I made this and although good, my husband told me it is too bready. Actually he would prefer peach pie – sigh. But, I like cobbler and will make this again. I will either add another comment or edit this one with my changes.

    • AttainableSustainable Jul 26, 2023 @ 7:19

      Make the cobbler for yourself! Problem solved 🙂

  • Ruth Ann Jul 2, 2023 @ 3:47

    Can another oven proof dish such as glass be used in this recipe?

    • AttainableSustainable Jul 5, 2023 @ 5:34

      Yep! If you don’t have a cast iron pan or Dutch oven, an oven-safe baking dish is just fine to use.

  • Doug Aug 7, 2022 @ 7:47

    Any modifications to the recipe when using fresh canned peaches?

    • AttainableSustainable Aug 9, 2022 @ 2:37

      I haven’t tried that with this recipe so couldn’t say for sure.

    • Anna Nov 26, 2022 @ 15:59

      Did you try canned peaches, Doug? I have some in the pantry…

  • KSP Aug 5, 2022 @ 9:30

    I have a cast iron but it doesn’t have a cover–should i try to use a makeshift one from my other covers, finding one that fits closest or should I put foil?

    • AttainableSustainable Aug 9, 2022 @ 3:06

      Whichever will cover it the best, if your lids don’t fit try the foil.

  • patricia Jul 30, 2022 @ 4:09

    Yes, the best Peach Cobbler I have ever eaten, is my favorite. I have been looking for a recipe for this for a long time. Best Ever!
    Thanks

    • AttainableSustainable Aug 2, 2022 @ 4:30

      You’re welcome, so glad you love it as much as we do!

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