Juicy sweet peaches and buttery biscuits come together in this classic summer dessert. Peach cobbler is the ultimate comforting dessert, celebrating the season’s fresh flavors. Cut the peaches into chunks for the best texture and use this easy buttermilk biscuit topping for the best flavor.
What Peach Cobbler Should Be
Up until this past week, let’s call it The Week of Cobbler, I only made classic peach cobbler a few times. Each cobbler was good, but certainly nothing I would rave about. In my recent recipe testing, however, I learned that there are several peach cobbler standards:
- The peach syrup has to be rich and sweet, but not overly sweet.
- The peaches shouldn’t be too flimsy and definitely chunks not slices.
- Chunks are best, as seen in my peach pie and peach crumble pie.
- Lemon juice balances the sweet peaches and sugar.
- Minimal cornstarch to thicken the peaches because too much weighs them down.
- Definitely a crisp biscuit topping with a moist interior.
- But not too crisp! And not undercooked!
- The biscuit should have a beautiful butter flavor. Bland ruins it all.
- Golden sheen and cinnamon-sugar on the biscuit are necessary.
- Top with vanilla ice cream or even fresh whipped cream.
It sounds like a tall order, doesn’t it? Well, it’s easier than you can imagine.
Overview: How to Make Peach Cobbler
Peach cobbler combines juicy sweet peaches with a simple biscuit topping. The biscuit is crisp on top and buttery soft underneath and tastes phenomenal on top of the succulent brown sugar peaches. It’s so much easier than peach pie, but just as satisfying. Let’s break down each step:
- Peel the peaches and cut into chunks. Peach chunks easily fit on your spoon and they don’t become as flimsy as peach slices. Peach chunks are also the best for peach bread, peach bars, and peach pie, too.
- Mix the filling ingredients together. You need, peaches, brown sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a pinch of salt. Since peaches are naturally sweet, you only need 1/4 cup of sugar in the filling. Spread the filling into a 9×13 inch pan.
- Pre-bake the peaches. Pre-baking the peach filling for about 10 minutes before adding the biscuit topping. Without this step, the peaches could remain firm underneath the topping.
- While the peaches pre-bake, make the biscuit topping. Mix a few basic ingredients together. You need flour, sugar, baking powder, and baking soda. Cut in cold butter with a pastry cutter until pea-sized crumbs form, like we do for pie crust. These flour-coated butter crumbles promise a flaky soft, but crisp biscuit topping. After that, mix in buttermilk.
- Top peaches with biscuit dough. Using your hands, form the dough into little patties and place them on top of the warm peaches.
- Bake until the topping is lightly browned.
Peach Cobbler Biscuit Topping
There are plenty of ways to make peach cobbler. There’s a cake-like variety which combines cake batter and peaches. The cake batter is actually on the bottom and floats above the peaches as it all bakes. Of course it’s all personal preference, but I definitely gravitate towards the biscuit. There’s more crunchy texture and the whole thing tastes wholesome and rich, especially when the warm sticky peach syrup and vanilla ice cream topping cross paths.
I love that the biscuit topping is made from basic ingredients. And I know you’ll appreciate that too! I strongly recommend using buttermilk for an ultra-rich biscuit flavor. It’s what I use to prepare my homemade biscuits, too.
The biscuit dough arrangement on top of the peaches doesn’t need to be exact or perfect. Some peaches can be exposed underneath. It might not look pretty, but this peach cobbler smells awesome as it bakes! Before baking, brush the biscuit layer with a little egg wash (egg + buttermilk), then sprinkle it with cinnamon sugar. These little extras add a lovely golden sheen and extra flavor. Highly recommended!
This biscuit-topped peach cobbler is rustic, comforting, and extremely simple without overcomplicating things. The peaches are obviously the star of the show and the whole dessert won’t leave you with a toothache. It’s fresh and pure summer goodness.
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Fresh Peach Cobbler
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Juicy sweet peaches and buttery biscuits combine together in this classic summer dessert. Cut the peaches into chunks for the best texture and use this easy buttermilk biscuit topping for the best flavor. The egg wash promises a golden crisp topping.
Ingredients
- 8–9 medium peaches, peeled and cut into 1-1.5 inch chunks (about 10 cups)
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (7g) cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
Buttermilk Biscuit Topping
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, cold*
- egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk or buttermilk
- optional: 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar mixed with 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9×13 inch pan.
- Make the filling: In a large bowl, stir the peach chunks, brown sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together until thoroughly combined. Spoon filling into prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside as you prepare the topping. Keep oven on.
- Make the topping: Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Add the butter. Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the butter into the mixture until it resembles coarse meal (pea-sized bits). A pastry cutter makes this step very easy and quick! While slowly stirring, slowly drizzle in the buttermilk. Mix until evenly combined. Take handfuls of dough and gently flatten out. Place dough all over the top of the peach filling. It doesn’t need to be perfect or look pretty– some peach filling can be showing.
- Brush the top of the biscuit dough with egg wash, then sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar if using.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until lightly browned and biscuit topping is cooked through. (Stick a toothpick into the biscuit topping, if it comes out clean– it is cooked through and the cobbler is done.) Set the pan on a wire rack, then cool for 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
- Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: This is one of those recipes that should be prepared and baked right away. The biscuit topping won’t rise as much if it is not immediately baked. You can, however, freeze the prepared peach filling for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the refrigerator before using. It will be quite juicy, but that’s not a bad thing in cobbler! You can also freeze the baked cobbler for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm in the oven before serving.
- Buttermilk: You can make your own DIY version of buttermilk if needed. Add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough cold whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1/2 cup. (In a pinch, cold lower fat or cold nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the topping won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
Keywords: peach cobbler
If I made it in an 8 or 9 in square pan, how long would the bake time be?!
Hi Sara, you can halve the recipe if using an 8 inch or 9 inch square pan.
Is there a weight estimate for the amount of peaches? Count and volume are so variable. Thanks!
Hi Kari, you’ll want about 3 pounds (1.4kg) of peaches. Enjoy!
I would love to make this and surprise my hair stylist with a peach cobbler (her fave) for her birthday … ONLY she’s gluten free … Is there a way to adapt this recipe or have you a great gluten peach cobbler recipe? Thanks for you assistance.
Have a Wonderful day
Hi Donna, we haven’t tried a gluten-free version of this cobbler, but let us know if you give anything a try!
I’d like to scale the recipe down for a couple. If cutting it down to a half or a third, how would that change the baking time for the biscuit layer? Thanks!
P.S – Thanks for the recipe! I’ve made this once before and it was very well received.
★★★★★
Hi Jax, the bake time should be about the same, but maybe a few minutes less. We’d keep a close eye on it!
Absolutely loved this recipe! I have made both your peach pies as well and turned out amazing! We have fantastic Niagara peaches out right now so working my way through about 4 bushels. I would like to make individual 5inch round cobblers, how would the baking time be affected and would I still cook the peaches first or would they overcook in the smaller containers? Any help would be appreciated
Hi Karen, you can definitely make these in individual cobblers! We would recommend slightly baking the peaches before adding to the ramekins. We’re unsure of the exact bake time for the individual ramekins. We do recommend placing the ramekins on a baking sheet before placing them in the oven. Let us know how it goes for you!
I want to make this Peach Cobbler for a BBQ I am invited to but the hostess is allergic to cinnamon! Can I just use a little more ground nutmeg or another substitute?
Hi Armida, yes that will work just fine!
Your recipes never fail me. I just got a large box of Colorado peaches and made this cobbler this morning. A lot of my peaches were pretty ripe so I didn’t pre-cook the peaches and it still came out perfect! Thank you Sally!
★★★★★
Can I cut the peaches into slices instead of chunks? My peaches are not perfectly ripe and I worry they won’t get soft enough as chunks…
Hi Sofia, the peaches will be flimsier when sliced. You can cut them how you desire!
This recipe had great flavor. The only change I would make is to either double the peach mixture or half the biscuit topping, it ended up a bit dry and felt a bit out of proportion. I think next time I’d use a smaller dish and half the topping. Nobody was mad about it tho! Still a good dish!
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Can I prepare,refrigerate and bake when ready to eat?
Hi Denise! This is one of those recipes that should be prepared and baked right away. The biscuit topping won’t rise as much if it is not immediately baked. See recipe notes for a few other make ahead options.
WOW! WOW! WOW!
I made your fantastic recipe today and brought it for dinner at my parents and we absolutely adore it! I replaced nutmeg with cardamom, because hubby doesn’t like it and added some fresh lemon zest to the peaches, well because we’re Italian and we have to put lemon zest in everything or almost! But other than that, I didn’t change anything! It’s crispy, moist, tender and the taste is the absolute perfect combination between sweet and sour. Served warm with good vanilla ice cream is simply the best summer dessert ever!!!
Thank you so much!!! ♥️♥️♥️
★★★★★
I only have 12 small peaches. Is there any way to make this work in the recipe?
Hi Audrey, you need about 10 cups of peaches total for this recipe. If your peaches don’t yield that amount, you can try halving the recipe and using an 8 inch or 9 inch square pan instead.
You can tell this was written in the 2010s! Recipes then were often overly sweet with little salt to balance things out. The biscuit topping was too sugary (almost like a cookie) for me. Next time I make this I’ll use closer to 1/8 cup sugar and 1 tsp salt. I’m looking forward to making this again with my adjustments.
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This recipe is awesome and easy. I literally did not even know how to peel a peach (run under hot water and rub the skin til it comes away) and I don’t have a pastry cutter and I had never even made a dough before & it came out perfectly. This site makes me feel like a good cook
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Hi Sally- I’d love to make a peach crisp. Would I be better off using this rexipe and using the topping from yourapple crisp recipe OR using the apple crisp recipe and switching peaches for the apples? I am wondering if you have tried either! I didn’t see a peach crisp recipe! Thanks in advance. PS I can’t imagine baking with a non- Sally recipe!!
Hi Catherine! Here’s our favorite Peach Pecan Crisp recipe – the pecans are a fantastic compliment to the sweet peaches!
This was incredibly delicious! One quick question- I had more cobbler than peach and while some may like that, I would have preferred more peach. Next time I make this I think I will double the number of peaches I use, is there anything else I will have to change to do this? Thank you
★★★★★
Hi Cecelia! If you double the peaches next time, we would double the other filling ingredients as well. Bake time will be longer to cook through the extra fruit. If you notice the cobbler topping is browning too much, tent with foil while it finishes baking.
Do the peaches need to be completely ripe?? Thanks!
For best flavor, yes!
Peach cobbler has long been my favorite summer breakfast/lunch/dessert haha. Living in hawaii… peaches are a little tough to come by. Do you think this could be made with mangoes??? I’ve got plenty of them and the textures are pretty close!
Hi Kenny, we haven’t tested it ourselves, but we can’t see why not. You may want to tinker with the amount of sugar based on how sweet your mangoes are. Let us know what you try!
1. What can I do if my peaches are not sweet?
2. Could I use canned peaches with this recipe?
Hi Mari, you can use canned peaches in a pinch. The flavor and texture of the peaches will be different of course. If you can, buy the canned peaches without sugar added in the syrup and drain and blot the excess moisture before using. If using canned peaches with sweetened syrup, you might want to tinker with the amount of added sugar. The filling should still be plenty sweet enough if using fresh peaches that aren’t quite as sweet, but feel free to play with the added sugar amounts if desired.
I used this recipe to make peach cobbler with the first peaches from my tree! It was delicious as all of Sally’s recipes are. The only substitution I made was to use 1-to-1 gluten free flour. The biscuit was crisp and not too sweet and the peaches were spiced just right. Thanks for another great recipe!
★★★★★
So good!! I made this using brown butter tonight and it was delicious. The topping is AMAZING, I’ve been dreaming of this cobbler topping for years and have not been able to get it down but this is perfect.
★★★★★
Made this last night using thawed frozen peaches and have to say this is THE cobbler recipe I’ve been searching for! Flavor is spot on, not too sweet but sweet enough, cobbler not too biscuit-y or too cake-y or too thin. Quick and easy too— can’t ask for more! A favorite tip for incorporating butter into biscuits or pie pastry: grate it from the cold stick with large-hole flat grater (microplane extra course is perfect) onto the flour mixture, tossing some of the flour onto the grated butter a few times during grating, means less time/effort using pastry cutter after and tender flaky results 🙂 Thanks so much for this fabulous recipe!!
★★★★★
My first try at one of Saly’s recipes although I’ve been a subscriber for months. I had some fresh frozen peaches from last years crop and needed to make room for this years rhubarb so thought I’d give this recipe a go. Oh my goodness! This came out so delicious. I halved the recipe for just two of us. I drained the frozen peaches to lessen the liquid and the prebake helped with that as well. The topping came out beautifully and a bit crunchy which was yummy. I didn’t do the egg wash but did add the cinnamon sugar. This is a wonderful recipe and I know I’ll use it again as CO has a big peach crop every hear which you just can’t resist.
★★★★★
We’re so glad you enjoyed this cobbler, Cindy — we’d love to know what else you decide to make next!
Any reason why I couldn’t make the filling the night before?
Hi Gin, you can try making the filling the night before, but it might just be a little juicier. Not a bad thing in a cobbler, though!
Would it be okay to make this the night before and then heat it up in the oven?
Hi Amanda, cobbler is best prepared and baked right away. See recipe notes for a few make ahead options. Hope this helps!
Sorry – I meant to say actually bake it the night before, store it in the fridge, and then warm it up in the oven right before serving.
That should work just fine then!