Apple Crumble Cobbler is a classic and good dessert recipe from the UK which is traditionally baked in the oven and topped with custard. Several years ago I was inspired to create a healthy version of the traditional recipe which involves baking this crumble in individual dishes for each serving.
Apple Cobbler Crumble
This super-easy cobbler is great for unexpected company or spur-of-the-moment cravings. The juice from the fruit cooks out to produce enough moisture to make this cobbler delicious. You can also use fresh peaches instead of apples.
Recipe Summary
Prep:
20 mins
Cook:
30 mins
Additional:
10 mins
Total:
1 hr
Servings:
9
Yield:
9 servings
Ingredients
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Original recipe yields 9 servingsIngredient Checklist
- 1 cup self-rising flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced
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Directions
Instructions Checklist
- Step 1Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×9-inch baking dish.
- Step 2Mix flour, sugar, butter, and cinnamon together in a bowl using a pastry blender or fork until crumbly; reserve 3/4 cup flour mixture to use as topping.
- Step 3Sprinkle a light layer of flour mix into the prepared baking dish; top with a layer of apples. Continue alternating layers of flour mixture with apples and ending with apples. Sprinkle top apple layer with the reserved 3/4 cup flour mixture.
- Step 4Bake in the preheated oven until apples are tender and topping is lightly browned, 30 to 35 minutes. Allow cobbler to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Cook’s Note:
If topping begins to brown too soon (before apples are tender), loosely cover with aluminum foil.
Nutrition Facts
Per Serving:
253 calories; protein 1.7g; carbohydrates 40.2g; fat 10.4g; cholesterol 27.1mg; sodium 249.7mg.
Apple Cobbler with Crumb Topping Recipe – How to Make it in 21 Simple Steps
Apple Cobbler has been around in the United States since before the time of the Civil War. Although modern cobblers are slightly different from the antebellum kind, both recipes feature sweetened fruit and delicious breading. Our recipe for Apple Cobbler also adds a delicious crumb topping to the dessert.
Currently, when most people picture cobbler, they think of a dish that has sweetened fruit at the bottom of a deep-dish pie pan or a casserole dish. The fruit is topped with a sweetened biscuit-style dough or a mixture that is something like cake batter. The cobbler is baked and generally served hot, with fruit swimming in delicious juices topped with a crisp-tender crust on the top of the fruit. Often, cobbler is topped with vanilla ice cream or sweetened, flavored whipped cream.
Apple Cobbler with Crumb Topping Recipe
Fall is prime time for crisp mornings, campfires, piles of crunchy leaves, and spicy desserts that perfectly hit the spot. This recipe for Apple Cobbler is wonderful for any occasion, but the flavors of tart-sweet apples and rich cinnamon are particularly wonderful for cool fall evenings.
PREP TIME30 mins
BAKING TIME40 mins
TOTAL TIME1 hr 10 mins
CUISINEAmerican
SERVINGS8 Servings
EQUIPMENT
- 9 inch Square Pan
- Medium-Sized Bowl
- Wooden Spoon
- Small bowl
INGREDIENTS 1x2x3x
Apple Filling Ingredients
- 5 pc Medium-Sized Apples
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
Cobbler Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Butter or 1 stick
- 1 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 cup Milk
- 3/4 cup Granulated Sugar
Crumb Topping Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 3/4 cup Flour
- 4 tbsp Butter
- 1 cup Chopped Pecans
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Spray a nine-inch square pan with cooking spray.
- Peel and chop the apples into chunks that are about 1 inch in thickness.
- Place the apple pieces in a medium-sized bowl.
- Stir the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt into the apples and toss them with a wooden spoon to coat the fruit in sugar and cinnamon.
- Place the apples in the prepared pan.
- Pour ½ cup water over the apples, gently drizzling it over the surface of the apples, and set the pan aside.
- Next, you will make the crumb topping. In a small bowl, microwave the butter for about 25 seconds to melt it.
- Add the flour and brown sugar to the butter. Use a fork to combine this mixture. It should be rather dry and crumbly.
- Stir in the pecans. Set the crumb topping aside and move on to making the cobbler.
- Using the same medium-sized mixing bowl that you used for the apples, microwave the one stick of butter until it is melted, or about 30 seconds.
- Add the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.
- Whisk in the milk and stir well until it is well combined. The mixture should have the texture of pancake batter, slightly thick but a little runny.
- Pour this mixture over the top of the apples, spreading the batter over all of the apples in a uniform layer. You do not want to stir this into the apples.
- Next, make the crumb topping and sprinkle it all over the top of the cobbler mixture.
- Again, do not stir this mixture together. You should now have three layers in the pan: a layer of apples, a later of cobbler batter, and the crumb topping sprinkled on top.
- Place the pan in your preheated oven and bake at 375 degrees for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown. It is okay if the center is a little jiggly when you remove it.
- Allow the cobber to cool for about 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Serve warm.
- You can top the cobbler with vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream if you desire, or you can simply serve it alone.
- Leftovers can be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- To reheat, you can microwave each serving in a bowl for about 45 seconds. However, for best results in reheating, place the entire dish back in the oven, heated to 350 degrees, for 20 minutes or so.
NOTES
Cobbler has been around in America since before the Civil War. However, it seems like antebellum cobbler was a little bit different from what modern bakers consider cobbler. Records say that a cobbler back then consisted of a layer of pastry on the bottom of a baking pan, sweetened fruit on the top of the pastry, and a crust on top of the fruit. It sounds like cobbler way back then was what we consider today to be a pie!
Cobbler can be made from a variety of fruits. Cherry and peach are favorite flavors of a cobbler, but today, we are sharing a recipe for Apple Cobbler. Our Apple Cobbler is a little different from a classic cobbler recipe in that it has a crumb topping on top of the sweetened batter. This crumb topping includes nuts. We chose pecans, but if you prefer another kind of nut, it would likely be just as delicious. Walnuts or almonds will probably make a great cobbler as well! The crumb topping adds a layer of crunchy texture to the dessert that we are certain you will love.
What’s the Difference Between a Cobbler, Crumble, and Crisp?
When it comes to dessert — especially those involving fresh fruit and pastry! — we’re usually too busy spooning up another bite to care what it’s called. But these can be confusing, right? What’s a cobbler, exactly? Is a crisp by any other name a crumble? If you need a refresher on your fruit desserts, you’re in luck. Learn more about what exactly makes these beloved summer treats so unique, what makes them similar, and, of course, how to make a delicious version of each!
What Is a Cobbler?
Cobblers differ from crisps or crumbles in that they typically have a biscuit topping covering the cooked fruit. The biscuits are usually dropped onto the fruit in small rounds, giving it the appearance of a cobbled road, hence the name. Cobblers, such as traditional peach cobbler, can also be made with cake batter or cookie dough instead of biscuit and are equally tasty. Get creative with your cobbler recipes and try this “any-fruit” cobbler or this mango cobbler with coconut whipped cream.
What Is a Crumble?
A crumble is a baked dessert made of fresh fruit with a streusel-like topping, typically prepared in a baking dish or casserole dish. The name “crumble” is thought to have originated from England. You can easily make crumbles at home by first preparing a basic streusel topping and then trying out crumble recipes like Blueberry and Apricot Crumble, Plum Crumble, and Blackberry Rhubarb Crumble.
What Is a Crisp?
A crisp is extremely similar to a crumble in that it is a baked dessert made with fresh fruit and a crumbly streusel-esque topping. Originally, the difference between a crumble and a crisp, however, was an ingredient used in the topping: crisps would contain oats and crumbles would not. In an actual crisp, as in apple crisp or strawberry crisp, the oats in the topping crisp up as it bakes, hence the name. As time has gone by, though, the lines have blurred and the names crumble and crisp are now used interchangeably.
What Cobblers, Crumbles, and Crisps Have in Common
Cobblers, crumbles, and crisps are all baked desserts of fresh fruit topped with some kind of pastry. The fruit juices bubble up into the pastry as it bakes, forming little pockets of deliciousness and giving most of these desserts their signature pockmarked appearance.
Although these rustic desserts aren’t going to win any beauty contests, they’re a great, easy way to showcase ripe fruit and serve a lot of people. In our opinion, the combination of warm summer fruit and pastry trumps all. Add a scoop of ice cream and we’re in heaven.