This old-fashioned Apple Cobbler is one of my FAVORITE fall desserts. It's made with fresh apples in a cinnamon sauce, with a delicious cake-like topping.
We can't get enough of cobbler recipes at our house. We enjoy peach cobbler and blueberry cobbler all year round, but when apple season comes, it's either homemade apple crisp, apple cobbler, or fresh apple cake; on repeat!
Apple Cobbler
Many apple cobbler recipes are made with a biscuit like topping, I wanted the same old-fashioned cake-like topping that I use in my other recipes! It has a slight crisp on the top and is soft in the center, and pairs so well with the sauce and tender apples in this recipe.
How's Apple Cobbler different from Apple Crisp?
There is a difference between apple crisp and apple cobbler. Just like its name, apple crisp has a crispy crumble topping made with oats. The topping for this apple cobbler is a smooth batter that is poured on top of the apple filling and bakes more cake-like.
Which apples are best for baking?
Any baking apple will work great! I tend to prefer Granny Smith apples but I also like Gala apples, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, or any other tart apple.
To peel or not to peel?
Yes, I like to peel the apples for apple cobbler! The skin doesn’t break down during baking and can make for a tougher texture. (But you can leave the skin on if you want, and chop the apples into smaller cubes!) I use my Johnny Apple Peeler for this part because it does the work for me. It PEELS, CORES and SLICES the apple all at once!
4 steps to easy Apple Cobbler:
Make the Apple Filling: Stir together water, brown sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large saucepan. Stir in apples. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes.
Make the batter: In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk and melted butter, just until combined.
Pour into dish. Add apple mixture to your pan and pour the batter evenly on top. Sprinkle it lightly with cinnamon and it's ready to bake!
Bake: at 350 degrees for about 38-40 minutes. Serve warm, with a scoop of ice cream, if desired.
Make Ahead and Freezer Instructions:
You could prepare the apple filling and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months.
You can also freeze the baked cobbler for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm in the oven before serving.
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Recipe
Apple Cobbler
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 medium apples (Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, or other good baking apple), peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick
- 1 cup water or apple juice
- 1/3 cup brown sugar , packed
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
For the batter:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup milk
- 5 Tablespoons butter , melted
- ground cinnamon for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9×13 inch pan lightly with cooking spray.
- Stir together brown sugar, water, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a saucepan. Stir in apples. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring.
- Pour mixture into prepared pan.
- In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the milk and melted butter, just until combined.
- Pour the mixture over the apples in the pan. Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon.
- Bake for about 38-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the topping comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
- Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition
HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
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First time on your site, and both my husband and I l hi Iove this Apple Cobbler recipe! We tried it out ourselves before taking it to a large gathering and ate every yummy bite.
Readers, if you’re on the fence about this recipe, take my word for it–this is a keeper! This will go in our file of favorites, for sure.
Just a wee word of advice: please ignore nay-sayers who changed everything but the baking temperature and then left a negative review…lol. Always try the recipe AS WRITTEN first, then adjust to your taste. We followed the recipe to a tee, and it was great! Thanks for sharing this, Lauren!
This is an excellent apple cobbler. My daughter loved it and made it for her work potluck and was a huge hit. It was enjoyed by everyone.
Have never made apple cobbler (only peach and blueberry) but my GOD this recipe is fantastic! I had some raisins laying around so I added some of those. I ate nearly the whole thing on my own and I made it again the next night!
I made this apple cobbler tonight. It was so delicious. The whole pan was gone before the evening was over.
First time making apple cobbler and this recipe is delicious, made it from own grown apples, will make it again 👍🏻
I made this a month or so ago and it turned out perfect (cooked it in a Dutch oven on a fire) and the last 2 times I have cooked it in the oven the top becomes all crispy but “cake” is still runny inside… what am I doing wrong!?
Can I half this recipe? Theres only 3 ppl in my house. Has anyone done this? Ive tried other recipes for smaller cobblers and we didnt like them at all.
Maybe it is just me, but my wife and I gobble the whole recipe up in two days! It is just too good!
Followed the recipe exactly – I used a variety of Granny Smith – honey crisp – pink lady (prob about 8 cups all chopped up)… and I sprinkled the top with cinnamon sugar rather than just cinnamon.
Easy to follow, and very yummy.I added a cup of fresh blueberries topped it with vanilla ice cream and a caramel cream drizzle. (whipped cream optional)
I made this x10 for a buffet. It worked out great, but I made some changes for that size batch – reduced the nutmeg total to 1/2T (it is a very potent spice), increased the brown sugar to about 2#, reduced the baking powder to 4T. Also, I used frozen apples and reduced the water/apple juice amount down by about 1/3. You can always add more water. Taste and adjust your spice/seasoning level after instruction #2.
I do alot of cooking, but very little baking. This recipe was easy and excellent, a huge hit. Use apple juice if you can.
Tasty and easy to make. Thanks!
I made this for my family and they loved it. It was the hit of the evening dinner.
Can you top cobbler w/a freezer pie crust instead of topping in recipe?
Sure, you could just make the filling and top it with a pie crust. That would be delicious.
I’ve made this recipe like 6 times now and it’s wonderfully delicious every single time. Everyone always loves and enjoys it when I make it. Definitely taste the best when you add apple juice compared to water. Thank you again, I’m saving this recipe! ^o^
Thank you for indicating that it’s better with apple juice verses the water. This was exactly what I wanted to know.