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Cherry Cobbler is made with juicy fresh or frozen cherries and a buttery, golden crumb topping. Ready in under an hour — no cherry pie filling needed
Fresh fruit makes for some of the best desserts out there! Strawberry Crumb Bars are a staple in our house in the summer. And this Lemon Blueberry Cake is such a great way to use up those fresh berries.
Cherry cobbler is one of those old classics that gets made over and over for a reason. Six cups of cherries, a simple crumb topping, and about 45 minutes in the oven is all it takes. I love that you can make it with fresh summer cherries, or pull frozen ones out for a cobbler in the middle of winter.
What Is A Cobbler
A cobbler is a traditional dish that is fruit based and then topped with a batter, biscuit, or dumpling type dough that is then baked. It is has been around forever and can really be made with almost any fruit.
A cobbler is kind of like a fruit pie, but without the crust. And the topping doesn’t have any oats, so a traditional cobbler is not the same as a “crisp”.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Cherries
- Sugar
- Brown Sugar
- Lemon Juice
- Vanilla Extract
- Almond Extract
- Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Butter
For this recipe you need 6 cups of pitted cherries, which works out to about 2 pounds of whole cherries before stemming and pitting. Frozen cherries work just as well, so you can make this year round.
Cherry Cobbler
Ingredients
- 6 cups cherries, stem and pit removed (or frozen)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 6 Tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- In a bowl mix together cherries with the sugar, brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extract. Mix until everything is well coated. Pour into 8 inch casserole dish or 10 inch skillet.6 cups cherries, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup light brown sugar, 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- In a separate bowl mix together the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, almond extract and melted butter. The mixture will be crumbly. Spread the crumb topping over the cherries. It will be crumbly and not like a batter.1 cup all-purpose flour, 2/3 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon almond extract, 6 Tablespoons butter
- Bake for about 35-40 minutes until the cherries are bubbly and the topping is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cook for at least 20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How To Make Cherry Cobbler
- Mix the cherries together with the sugar, brown sugar, flour, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extract until everything is well coated. Pour into an 8 inch casserole dish.
- In a separate bowl mix together the sugar, flour, baking powder, salt, almond extract and melted butter. The mixture will be crumbly.
- Spread the crumb topping over the cherries. It will be crumbly and not like a batter.
- Bake for about 40 minutes until the cherries are bubbly and the topping is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let cook for at least 20 minutes before serving.
The crumb topping for this fruit cobbler is not quite the same as others that are more of a “biscuit” dough type consistency. I really like this because some of it melts into the cherries and you get and texture all throughout the cobbler.
If you want a more traditional topping, stir in 1/2 cup of milk into the topping and it will come together a little more like a batter. Then you can take pieces of the dough and place them over the cherries.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Measure cherries after pitting, not before. The recipe calls for 6 cups pitted, measuring whole cherries first can leave you a little short.
Don’t overmix the topping. It’s supposed to look crumbly and uneven once the melted butter is stirred in. That’s what gives you the texture variation once it bakes, with some of it melting into the cherries.
Watch for bubbling, not just color. The topping will turn golden brown before the cherries are fully bubbly in the center. Give it the full 35–40 minutes and look for bubbling around the edges as your cue that it’s done.
Don’t skip the rest time. Letting the cobbler sit for at least 20 minutes after baking lets the juices set up, so you get a scoopable cobbler instead of a runny one.
Frozen cherries go in as-is. No need to thaw before mixing them with the sugar and flour, just measure out the same 6 cups.
Want a more traditional topping? Stir in 1/2 cup of milk to bring the topping together like a batter, then drop pieces of it over the cherries instead of crumbling it on.
Absolutely — you can use almost any fruit you like: peaches, pears, apples, or berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, or a combination).
You want a sweet cherry for this recipe. I like Dark Sweet Cherries because they hold up well and have the right amount of sweetness. Skip sour cherries here, the sugar in the recipe isn’t balanced for their tartness.
You will often see cobblers made in a cast iron skillet, and that works great! You can really use any oven safe pan you have. I used an 8 inch square casserole dish. But a 11-inch skillet or even a cake pan works great!
I haven’t tested this recipe with canned cherries, so I can’t say for certain how it will turn out. If you want to try it, skip canned cherry pie filling (it’s already sweetened and thickened, and will throw off the texture) — plain canned cherries, well drained, would be the closer substitute. Fresh or frozen cherries are what I’d recommend for the best results.
How To Serve Cobbler
You will notice the recipe says to let the cobbler cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. This allows all the juices to set up and not be quite as runny. I like it best warm, so after 20 minute scoop into bowls and top with vanilla ice cream for a delicious dessert!
Storage
If you have any leftovers, cover and store them in the fridge for up to 5 days. It is best served warm, so when you serve the leftovers, I like to microwave each serving for 20-30 seconds. Then top with ice cream or even whipped cream.
You can also return the whole pan to the oven and heat at 350º F until the cherries are warm; about 20 minutes.
Freezing
Baked fruit cobblers are best frozen by tightly covering the pan after it has baked, for up to about 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then warm in a 350°F oven until heated through. Keep in mind the topping is likely to soften after freezing and reheating, so it won’t have quite the same texture as fresh out of the oven.
We love a good cobbler. This one turned out so amazing.
Love a good fruit dessert. The cherry flavor here is perfect!
Such a flavorful and easy dessert! It’s so perfect for summer!
This is seriously ahh-mazing! Everyone at my house was impressed!