Quick Summary: Fruit cobbler with cream biscuit topping (no eggs, no buttermilk required). Peaches and blueberries with cardamom, lemon zest, and tapioca thickener. Use 6-7 cups fruit for a 9-inch dish. Biscuit dough uses cold butter cut into flour, then bound with heavy cream. Bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes until golden. Prep: 30 min | Cook: 45 min | Serves: 8
Jump to: RECIPE | Cobblers vs Crisps vs crumbles | Ingredients | Best Fruits for Cobblers | Modifying Sweetness | FAQ
This cobbler uses cream biscuits that don’t require buttermilk or eggs. Heavy cream binds the dough, and a touch of cardamom in the filling makes the peaches shine. I use fresh peaches when they’re in season and frozen blueberries from HeathGlen Farm year-round. The filling isn’t very sweet, which lets the fruit shine through. Serve with ice cream to balance the tartness.
What’s the Difference Between Cobblers, Crisps, and Crumbles?
Cobblers, Crisps and Crumbles are often used interchangeably, even though there are a few differences.
Cobblers are a fruit dessert baked with biscuit-style topping. It’s called a cobbler because its top crust is not evenly spread over the filling like a pie crust but rather “cobbled” and coarse. The biscuit dough is usually dropped or spooned over the fruit, then baked.
A crisp is fruit dessert with a topping made of a combination of oats, flour, butter, and sugar (and sometimes nuts). The topping completely covers the fruit and is baked. It is also sometimes called a crumble. This Blackberry Apple Crisp is my all time favorite crisp.
Crumbles are very similar to crisps, but the name originated in England. Both contain fresh fruit and are covered with a streusel topping that gets baked. Crumble toppings, however, usually do not contain oats, whereas crisp toppings do.
And then, of course there are the “buckles” and “brown bettys”. This summary of the various dough-topped fruit desserts will help distinguish the nuances.
Ingredients:
The exact measurements are found in the recipe below, but this photo gives you an idea of what you need to make the peach and blueberry cobbler:
Most people top off cobblers with ice cream or whipped cream. If you serve with whipped cream, check out this info on how to distinguish soft peaks from stiff peaks.
What Fruits Work for Cobbler Filling?
Any type of fruit or mixture of different fruits will be good as a cobbler filling.
For a 9-inch pie plate or a 9 x 13 baking dish I use about 6-7 cups of fruit. Frozen fruit will work, but of course fresh seasonal fruit is optimal. If you do use frozen fruit, just know that the filling will be a bit runnier and you will need to add another tablespoon of tapioca or whatever you are using for the thickener.
How Sweet Should Cobbler Be?
I use minimal sugar in my fillings, allowing the fruit to shine through. Most often I will serve it with ice cream however, which really pairs well with a cobbler that is on the tart side.
Feel free to add more sugar to the filling. You can use granulated white sugar, light brown sugar or even a sugar substitute like Truvia. The filling is extremely flexible and you won’t destroy the dish by adding more sugar.
FAQ
Cobbler has a biscuit topping dropped over fruit. Crisp has an oat-flour-butter streusel that covers the fruit completely. Crumble is like crisp but usually without oats.
Yes. Partially thaw to release some water, and add an extra tablespoon of tapioca to absorb the extra liquid. The filling will still be slightly runnier than fresh.
Tapioca creates a clearer, less starchy filling. It thickens without making the fruit taste floury. Quick-cook tapioca dissolves completely.
Yes. Use buttermilk, or Greek yogurt thinned with a little skim milk. Adjust ratios as needed for a workable dough.
Cardamom has warm, slightly citrusy notes that complement stone fruit beautifully. It’s unexpected but delicious. Start with 1/2 teaspoon; add more to taste.
Refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months. Reheat in the oven to re-crisp the biscuit topping.
Check out more blueberry recipes from our farm, from sweet to savory to cocktails to preserves.
Peach and Blueberry Cobbler
Equipment
- 9-inch pie plate or 9 x 13 baking dish
- large bowl
Ingredients
For the Fruit Filling
- 1 Tablespoon butter unsalted
- 4 large peaches about 4-5 cups sliced; best if fresh peaches
- 2 Cups blueberrries can be fresh or frozen
- ⅓ Cup sugar granulated
- 2 Tablespoons quick cook tapioca 3 Tablespoons if using frozen fruit
- ½ large lemon zest the lemon before juicing
- ¼ Teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ Teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ Teaspoon vanilla
For the Biscuits
- 1 ½ Cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ Cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 Tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- ½ Teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 Teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ Teaspoon baking soda
- ½ Cup unsalted butter (1 stick); keep it cold until ready to use it
- ½ Cup heavy cream fluid whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Peel and pit the peaches and cut them into slices. Each half peach gives about 4-6 slices, depending on size of peach.Grease the baking dish with the butter. To the baking dish, add the peaches, blueberries, sugar, tapioca, lemon juice and zest, salt, cardamom and vanilla.Mix ingredients together in the baking dish with you hands until everything is blended together. Set aside.1 Tablespoon butter, 4 large peaches, 2 Cups blueberrries, 1/3 Cup sugar, 2 Tablespoons quick cook tapioca, 1/2 large lemon, 1/4 Teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 Teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/2 Teaspoon vanilla
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, white sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda. I used a slotted spoon to sift it as I was mixing, but just make sure it's all mixed together.Remove butter from refrigerator and slice off 1-inch pieces into the flour mixture until it is all in the bowl. Use your hands or a pastry cutter to cut in the cold butter. The mixture should resemble small peas when finished (no large chunks of butter).Gently mix in the cream until just incorporated. Do not overmix.1 1/2 Cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 Cup yellow cornmeal, 2 Tablespoons white granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar, 1/2 Teaspoon kosher salt, 2 Teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 Teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 Cup unsalted butter, 1/2 Cup heavy cream
- Gather the dough together into a ball and either use a rolling pin to roll out into a 1 1/2 inch round, or use your hands to just pat it out into a round. (sprinkle the surface and the rolling pin with a little flour to prevent sticking)I used a 3-inch round cutter to cut out the dough rounds and placed them on top of the filling in the baking dish. If you want a more rustic look, just gather the dough in your hands and place pieces of it on top of the filling.Using a 3-inch round cutter gave me 10 rounds, which was more than would fit on the pie plate. If you have extra, wrap it in cling wrap and refrigerate.Leave gaps between the dough pieces to allow the fruit to peek through. For a nice browned look, brush the dough pieces with a little heavy cream and sprinkle with a coarse sugar (like turbinado sugar).
- Bake at 350℉ for 45-50 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown. Place a sheet-pan under the pie plate to catch any fruit dripping overflow.Cool for 20 minutes before serving to allow fruit filling to set.Serve with a dollop of ice cream. Store in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- If you have any fresh lemon verbena, chop up 3-4 leaves and add to the filling mixture
- Another optional addition could be 2-4 teaspoons ground ginger
- If you don’t want to use heavy cream you can sub in 1/2 cup buttermilk or greek plain yogurt with a little skim milk
- Using frozen fruit: I like to partially thaw the fruit to release some of the water before cooking. If you are using frozen fruit it will be more liquid and you may want to add an additional tablespoon of tapioca.
Dorothy Stainbrook says: 
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