Sweet spiced apples are blanketed with a soft, fluffy topping in this comforting, homestyle apple cobbler. Give the apple filling a quick pre-cook on the stove, and then top with an easy batter that comes together in 1 bowl—what a dream!
One reader, Brandon, commented: “Such a great fall recipe! A warm, delicious smell when baking and pairs perfectly with vanilla bean ice cream. Easy steps to follow for the win! ★★★★★”
Another reader, Alessandra, commented: “My first time making apple cobbler and it was a complete SUCCESS thanks to this recipe! ★★★★★“
After enjoying many over the years and recently testing 9 variations—yes, NINE!—my team and I are confident THIS is the one and only apple cobbler recipe you ever need to make. (It’s definitely the only way we will ever make it again, because I’m tired of trying other variations. LOL)
Here’s Why You’ll Love It:
- Comforting, homey feels: A buttery soft topping cloaks a warm, gooey apple filling with lots of cozy spice flavor. This is perfect comfort food to cuddle up with on chilly fall evenings. If apple trees could give hugs, this is what it would feel like.
- Easier than pie: No question apple pie is a favorite dessert, but it’s also a true labor of love. A fruit cobbler requires no chilling or cooling steps, no special tools, and no decorating skills! If you can slice apples and stir, you can make this apple cobbler. A great beginner baking recipe.
- Quicker than pie: Sometimes we need a crowd-pleasing dessert that’s ready to eat sooner rather than later. Apple crisp also fits the bill.
- Simple ingredients: You likely have most of these basic ingredients in your kitchen already. It’s also a nut-free, egg-free baking recipe.
Ingredients You Need for Apple Cobbler & Why:
- Butter: A little melted butter goes in the filling, and the rest goes in the topping.
- Brown & White Sugars: Thanks to its molasses content, brown sugar adds flavor as it sweetens the apple filling. We’re using white granulated sugar in the topping, because brown sugar can weigh it down. (Tried and tested that, trust me!)
- Lemon Juice: A squeeze of lemon keeps the apples’ flavor fresh and bright.
- Flour: Just a bit in the filling, to thicken it. The rest is for the topping.
- Spices: Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice: apples’ favorite spices. We include them in this apple cake, too.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is your best bet here, for the softest, most delicious topping. You can use low-fat or whole buttermilk, whichever you can find at the store. If you can’t find it at all, whole milk works. No need for a buttermilk substitute, because we’re not really looking for a highly acidic ingredient.
- Vanilla & Salt: Flavor enhancers.
- Baking Powder: This leavener lifts the topping up as it bakes.
Recipe Testing Apple Cobbler – 9 Times
It took us a surprisingly long time to figure out the best way to make apple cobbler—which is supposed to be a relatively simple dessert. To pre-cook the apples or not to pre-cook the apples? Slices or chunks? Biscuit topping or batter topping? Apples on top or apples on the bottom? My lead recipe tester, Beth, and I just couldn’t seem to get it quite right.
First, we started out by testing a biscuit-style topping, like we use on peach cobbler and berry cobbler. However, peaches and berries are both a lot juicier than apples, and the biscuit-topped variations kept coming out unappealing and dry.
So we switched to testing a batter-based apple cobbler, like how we make this easy cherry cobbler. But those kept failing us, too. The apples were too heavy to sit on top of the batter, and prevented the dish from baking through. Keeping the butter separate also created strange and unappetizing-looking craters on top. They all tasted pretty gummy, too.
Back to the drawing board. We knew what didn’t work for apple cobbler. So what did?
This Is How You’ll Start: Peel and Slice the Apples
Start with the apple filling. Peel and slice your apples using a peeler (that’s an affiliate link to the one I use and love!), just like we do for baked apple cider French toast. You can skip peeling the apples if you’d like, but many prefer peeled apples in desserts. Slice up the apples and place them in a saucepan.
Success Tip: Pre-Cook the Apple Filling
Just a few minutes of gentle cooking gives the apple slices a head start on softening and releasing some juice so the filling doesn’t dry out. Plus, they get coated in a gooey cinnamon-spice brown sugar sauce that thickens up nicely as it bakes.
We tested this step by baking the apples in the oven for the pre-cook step, but they didn’t become as gooey and soft. Instead, they dried out.
The stove is the best choice.
Transfer the apple filling to a lightly greased 9×13-inch (3–4-quart capacity) baking dish. The pretty one pictured is by Magnolia Home and no longer available; this rectangle pan and this oval pan are similar.
Next, you’ll…
Whisk Together the Batter for the Topping
You’ll appreciate that the batter for the topping comes together with just 1 bowl and a whisk!
After multiple rounds of testing (whole milk, apple cider, apple juice, sour cream…), the champion ingredient for this apple cobbler topping was clearly the thick and creamy buttermilk. Pour and spread the batter over the apple layer in the baking dish, and then top with a sprinkle of cinnamon-sugar. Use a butter knife to give the topping a gentle swirl, for a subtle marbling effect. Look how pretty!
This cinnamon apple cobbler takes less than an hour to bake. You’ll know it’s done when the apple filling is bubbling up around the edges… and by the glorious baked apple smell wafting through your kitchen!
This cobbler is best served warm; no need to wait for it to completely cool. (Music to your ears and taste buds.)
Firmer apples are ideal for baking. Avoid soft, mealy, and mushy apples. For depth of flavor, it’s best to bake with a mix of tart and sweet apples. Use tart Granny Smith, Braeburn, Jonathan, or Pacific Rose. And use sweet Jazz, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or Fuji. For a detailed list of my favorite apple varieties and when to use each, you can visit my post The Best Apples for Baking.
Any 3–4-quart baking dish works, such as a 9×13-inch dish. The pictured one is by Magnolia Home and no longer available; this rectangle pan and this oval pan are similar.
You can, but it’s 100x better fresh. I found that the apple filling dried out a bit after freezing and thawing, and the cake-like topping is a bit wet. If you want to try it, however, freeze baked and cooled cobbler for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and see reheating instructions below.
Yes. See detailed instructions below.
Vanilla ice cream is this dish’s best friend and I’m pretty confident no one will turn down a drizzle of salted caramel sauce, either.
From my kitchen to yours, here is the best apple cobbler I’ve ever had. (And I’ve had way too many at this point.)
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Apple Cobbler Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour (includes pre-cook)
- Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Sweet cinnamon-spiced apples are blanketed with a soft, fluffy topping in this comforting, homestyle apple cobbler. Give the apple filling a quick pre-cook on the stove, and then top with an easy batter that comes together in 1 bowl—what a dream! See Notes for best apples to use and how to halve the recipe, if needed.
Ingredients
Apples
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter
- 8 cups (about 1kg) peeled and sliced apples* (1/4-inch slices; about 7 apples)
- 3 Tablespoons (37g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- optional: 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan (or any 3–4-quart baking dish works).
- Pre-cook the apples: Melt 2 Tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the apple slices, brown sugar, lemon juice, flour, and spices. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes, or until the apples are coated and begin to soften. Transfer apple filling to the prepared baking pan.
- Make the topping: Whisk the melted butter and sugar together in a medium bowl. Add the buttermilk, vanilla, flour, baking powder, and salt, and whisk until combined and mostly smooth. Some small lumps are OK. Pour and spread the batter over the apples. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar evenly over the top. Use a butter knife to gently swirl the topping as best you can (the apples get in the way a bit, and that’s fine).
- Bake on the center rack for 48-55 minutes or until the topping is golden and the apple filling is bubbling around the edges. If you find the top of the cobbler is browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil (I usually do this about halfway through baking). Remove from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve warm, room temperature, or cold; on its own or topped with vanilla ice cream and/or salted caramel sauce.
- Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or bake, covered, in a 300°F (149°C) oven, for 20 minutes or until heated through.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: I do not recommend preparing and refrigerating the cobbler, unbaked, because the batter thickens the longer it sits. Also, the baking powder is initially activated once mixed with wet ingredients. The only way to prepare ahead of time is to cook the apple layer, cool, cover, and then refrigerate it for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before using.
- Freezing Instructions: This dessert is 100x better fresh. The apple filling dries out a bit after freezing and thawing, and the cake-like topping is a bit wet. If you want to try it, however, freeze baked and cooled cobbler for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator. See reheating instructions in step 6.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Vegetable Peeler | Saucepan | Silicone Spatula | 9×13-inch (3–4-quart capacity) Baking Dish (the one pictured is by Magnolia Home and no longer available; this rectangle pan and this oval pan are similar | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Apples: I like to use a mix of tart (like Granny Smith) and sweet (like Honeycrisp) apples. Here are the best apples for baking.
- Buttermilk: You can use either low-fat or whole buttermilk. If you can’t find either, use whole milk. No need to make a buttermilk substitute with lemon juice or vinegar. Avoid lower-fat milk.
- Serving Suggestion: Top with a drizzle of salted caramel sauce and/or vanilla ice cream.
- Can I Halve This Recipe? Yes; use a square 8-inch pan or round 9-inch cake pan or pie dish (square 9-inch pan is too big). Follow the recipe above, but halve all of the ingredients. The pre-cook time for the apples is about the same. The bake time is about 40 minutes.
- Can I Use Pears Instead? Yes. Same amount. The pre-cook step may need to be reduced if the pears are particularly soft, probably around just 3 minutes.
The cobbler was 5 star taste and came together quickly once I got through my least favorite part of peeling and coring apples.
Great recipe! I used 1:1 gluten free flour and it worked great! I also made whipped cream and Sally’s salted caramel to go with it. Highly recommend the additions, especially the caramel!
This was SO good! Next time I would probably use more apples and less sugar the next time. It was delicious though and my family loved it.
Omg so delish! This is the perfect recipe! Thanks so much
This was amazing! Made it with orchard apples. Served with homemade salted caramel sauce. Will be making it again and again this fall!
I think I’d give this 3.5 stars. It’s absolutely delicious, and super easy to make – but the apple amount seems way off. The first time I made it, it was about 1/4 apple, 3/4 topping. Still good, but not what I was expecting. So I made it again but doubled the apples and their spices. SO much better!
Such a great recipe, the topping was delicious. I think this will be replacing apple pie at Thanksgiving!
I’ve never had apple cobbler with a cake like topping. My husband loved it!
What a fun baking challenge. Thanks for sharing!
This was absolutely delicious. Perfect served warm with vanilla bean ice cream and a bit of Carmel on top!
This was PHENOMENAL!!!!! Everyone in my family loved this! We ate almost the WHOLE thing. We all had a second helping. This was a great success. It would be great to make this for a potluck. Great job, Sally!! Great job!!
This apple cobbler is amazing! It’s super easy and fun to make. I had a wonderful time taste testing it it’s simple, but very special. Great for apple-loving families!
I have never actually had apple cobbler and never would have made it if not for the recipe challenge! This was really yummy. The breading was kind of like a cinnamon roll. My kids loved it.
Scrumptious! Easy to make, not too sweet
Forgot to add stars!!
I loved this recipe! I dont think I’ve tried one recipe from Sally’s baking addiction and not loved it! The apple cobbler came out right in time for dessert and had the perfect warm temp. Super easy!
Love it! Made it for my 13 y/o daughter because she wasn’t feeling well and wanted something apple. She loved it.
This was great! Easy to make and tastes wonderful!
This cobbler came together so easily and quickly and made my house smell incredibly like fall while it was baking! I brought it to work and got rave reviews all day! I warmed mine up and had it with ice cream, and it is delicious! I agree with the person who mentioned they’ll add more apples next time. The flavor of the apples was so good, and I would love to have even more of them in each bite! Overall, a huge success that I’d definitely make again.
The recipe was so easy and delicious
My husband is a huge apple person and he went bananas for this (ha!). I will be making this again.
Amazing recipe that fulfills all autumn cravings! Simple and elegant with a touch of sourness from the apples! Perfection!
Great recipe – timings for half quantities worked well.
Could this recipe be broken down into ramekins? Individual serving sizes?
Thank you ☺️
Hi Sherry, we can’t see why not! Bake time will vary.
Feeds a crowd, and my coworkers loved it. Comes together beautifully.
This apple cobbler was so delicious! Sometimes I have a hard time with cobbler because I feel like other recipes I’ve tried just taste like biscuits on top of fruit. This one was a little sweeter and the texture was a little more cake-like. I loved it!! We had it for breakfast, so no ice-cream, but it didn’t need it at all. I was surprised how fast my kids devoured it! We will definitely make it again!
This recipe is delicious and so much easier to make than apple pie. Everyone really enjoyed it and it’s my delicious breakfast this morning (don’t judge me).
Omg this was so good and so easy. I used honeycrisp and Granny Smith. It was all I could do to not go back for a 4th serving of this. Dare I say it might replace the Apple pie at Thanksgiving…!
The essence of Fall in this simple, yet delicious apple cobbler! The topping was so light and fluffy, and the apples were tender with the right kind of bite and spice. As always, Sally, you knocked it our of the park!
A friend was going out of town, and gave me a bunch of unwanted apples. I would have made a crisp, but didn’t have any oats… so I searched for a recipe and came across the monthly contest! If I was going to bake, anyway, why not try to win a prize?
I’m not a first time baker, but this is easy enough for one to follow. Unfortunately, I didn’t have buttermilk or whole milk on hand. Instead, I used a couple of tablespoons of sour cream and then filled the rest of the measuring cup with 2%. I also used salted butter, again, because it is what I had on hand. Even using that, (and because the recipe calls for a whole stick of butter, using salted adds about 1/8 tsp) the recipe still needs more salt. I would have added a bit each to the apples and to the topping. Wish I had made the salted caramel, as it is probably the perfect addition.
Apples are flavorful, and topping was light and tender. I baked it for 30 minutes, uncovered, then turned it and set a piece of foil on top for the last 20 minutes, and it came out perfectly cooked.
The apple cobbler topping was so buttery and delicious! Perfect fall dessert recipe.