This fresh peach cobbler is as simple as it is delicious. And easy to adapt too. If you like peach galette and peach bars, then you’ll love this easy peach cobbler too! Fruit cobbler recipes have been very popular in my family for many years. For good reason. It’s one of our favorite easy dessert recipes that always delivers with great flavor. And it’s so quick and easy to make! A Classic Peach Cobbler is easily the most popular version of all fruit cobblers. The juiciest of peaches, topped with a light, cream biscuit topping, that’s oh so soft and buttery… what’s not to love? And it’s so convenient because you can make the peach filling AND the biscuit topping in the same bowl, meaning less cleaning and less cooking. Sounds like the perfect summer and autumn dessert to me.
Recipe highlights
This is a fresh peach cobbler recipe using fresh peaches. Instead of cinnamon, I use lemon zest and lemon juice here for an additional layer of flavor. Lemon juice brightens the flavor of peaches, while lemon zest makes the fresh, fruity sweetness stand out even more. A buttery, soft, cream biscuit topping – the biscuit topping has a little butter added to it. The butter and cream combo makes for the best light, fluffy yet creamy topping that’s perfect for this classic peach cobbler. A fork will go through it like a hot knife through butter, and it’s creamy enough to soak up all the peach juices, while also having a cake-like texture. Plus, lemon zest adds more flavor to the biscuit topping as well. Quick, simple recipe, and it’s great for crowds!
What is peach cobbler?
There are only two criteria that make a perfect cobbler, Fruit filling – I’m not usually very picky about the fruits I use. I like peaches, plums, berries, nectarines, cherries or any stone fruit. While you could use frozen fruits to make fruit cobbler, I much rather use fresh fruits. I do try to avoid canned fruits at all cost though. Fresh fruits make the best filling, and for a fruit cobbler that’s half the recipe. Biscuit topping – A classic cobbler recipe uses cream biscuits as toppings. The biscuit needs to be light enough to break with a fork, but still soak up all that glorious juice from the fruits.
How to choose peaches for this recipe
Start with firm but ripe peaches – firm to the touch, but not rock hard (unripe), or too soft (overripe). Avoid peaches that are bruised, or have discolored. You can use yellow peaches or white peaches for this recipe, but remember that the color of the cobbler filling changes with the color of your peaches.
Can I use unpeeled peaches?
Some recipes call for peeling the peaches before making a classic peach cobbler, and some recipes don’t. I honestly don’t mind either. If peaches are peeled, the filling will be smoother, because there’s no peel holding it all together. But if you’re pressed for time, you can use unpeeled peaches too. Then the filling will have more texture because of the peels.
How to make fresh peach cobbler
Start with fresh, firm but ripe peaches. Start with good peaches, and you’ll get a great cobbler! Mix the peaches with the rest of the filling. Don’t forget the lemon either, because the citrus really perks up the peach flavor. Then place the filling in a baking dish and let it cook and thicken up. While the filling is cooking in the oven, mix all the ingredients to make the cream biscuit topping. Then spoon it over the cobbler, and bake till the topping is golden brown in color. Classic peach cobbler should be served while warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the best peach cobbler experience! 🙂
Other tips to make the best fresh peach cobbler
Use fresh lemon and lemon zest for best results – if you don’t have fresh lemon, you could use lemon extract in a pinch. Use cold butter for the topping – cutting/rubbing the butter into the flour will result in really tender biscuits for the topping. Make sure the baking powder is fresh – this is crucial to make sure the topping will rise. Otherwise you will end up with a dense topping. Only use a spoon to mix the topping – Do NOT over-mix! You want to develop as little gluten as possible to keep the topping tender and soft. Serve/eat while the cobbler is nice and warm. This is also why this dessert is perfect for autumn and winter.
How to serve peach cobbler
The traditional way to serve classic peach cobbler is with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But you can serve it with other toppings too. Here are some ideas.
Vanilla ice cream (classic) Vegan vanilla ice cream (vegan option) Whipped cream Creme fraiche Greek yogurt Non-dairy yogurt (for a vegan option)
Can I make this into a vegan peach cobbler?
Yes you can! A classic peach cobbler can be made vegan very easily. Substitute the butter with a vegan butter, and use full fat coconut milk instead of cream. Also make sure the white sugar you use is vegan too.
Can I make gluten free peach cobbler?
You can, but I haven’t tried this before. Since gluten doesn’t play an important role in this recipe, you could easily swap the flour for gluten-free flour. I usually like to use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free 1 to 1 baking flour when substituting for AP flour in my baking recipes.
Can I make this recipe ahead of time?
You can make the filling for fresh peach cobbler ahead of time, however I would recommend topping it with biscuits and baking this right before serving. Once baked, it doesn’t keep well because the biscuit topping gets quite soggy.
Can I keep leftovers?
Well, you can, so long as you don’t mind soggy cobbler though. Remember this classic peach cobbler is best eaten fresh, as soon as it’s cooked. The biscuit topping gets soggy after absorbing all of the peach juices, so you’d be left with a rather dry cobbler with extra soggy topping.
How to adapt this peach cobbler recipe
To make blueberry peach cobbler
Reduce the peaches to 2 lbs, and add 1/2 lb of blueberries into the filling. Proceed with the rest of the recipe for classic peach cobbler as instructed.
Raspberry peach cobbler
Reduce the peaches to 2 lbs, and add 1/2 lb of fresh raspberries into the filling. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as instructed.
Peach pie cobbler
Add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon to the peaches and leave out the lemon zest in the filling and topping.
Peach cobbler with thyme/rosemary biscuit topping
Add about 1 tsp of fresh thyme leaves/chopped rosemary to the filling, and add another 1 tsp of fresh thyme/chopped rosemary to the biscuit topping.
