Cherry Cobbler

This cherry cobbler recipe is the perfect summer dessert! The sweet fruit layer is topped with an easy batter that bakes up fluffy and golden.

Here’s a fruity summer dessert you need in your baking repertoire: Cherry Cobbler! Seasonal fruit is perfect for baking into crisps, crumbles, and cobblers, and this one is a stunner. Sweet cherries make a juicy sweet layer scented with cinnamon. Layer that with an easy batter that takes no time to whip up and bakes into a golden, fluffy topping. This cherry dessert is a pan of old fashioned, cozy goodness that will impress everyone (it does in our house!).

Ingredients in cherry cobbler

A cobbler is a dessert with a layer of fruit topped with batter and baked. Unlike a crisp or crumble that have a streusel-like topping, the batter is closer to a biscuit or cake. Some cobblers are dolloped with a biscuit-like, lightly sweetened dough, whereas others have a more solid batter layer that’s sweeter and cakey in texture. This cherry cobbler recipe uses the latter concept: it’s more cake-like than biscuity! The ingredients for cherry cobbler are:

• Sweet cherries, fresh, frozen or canned (see notes below)
• Granulated sugar
• Cornstarch
• Lemon juice and zest
• Cinnamon
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder and salt
• Salted butter
• Milk
• Vanilla extract

Type of cherries

The flavor of this cherry cobbler recipe is best with fresh sweet cherries (we recently picked a mound in Michigan for a fraction of the price you’d pray at the grocery!). But you can use grocery store fresh cherries, or even swap in frozen or canned. Here’s what to know:

• Sweet cherries: The most popular types of sweet cherries are Bing (dark red) and Rainier (golden and red). Bing cherries are easy to find at the grocery store and often you can find them fresh or frozen. They are very sweet, firm and juicy.
• Tart cherries: Montmorency cherries are sour cherries grown in Michigan. They’re more fragile to transport so most often you’ll find them dried or sometimes frozen. You can use them here if you can find them fresh, but add about 2 tablespoons extra sugar to the filling (then taste and add more as desired).
• Frozen cherries: Frozen cherries work well as a substitute! Keep in mind the note about adding sugar to tart cherries above.
• Canned cherries: Canned cherries also work! It’s best if they are packed in water and unsweetened. (Avoid using cherry pie filling because it has an artificially sweet flavor.) One 15-ounce can of cherries has about 2 cups of cherries, so you’ll need 2 ½ cans.

How to pit cherries

If you’re using fresh cherries for this cherry cobbler recipe, the most time consuming part of the recipe is pitting them! We’ve found the easiest method is to use a straw to remove the pit. Make sure it is a metal or a strong plastic straw (not disposable, which is too flimsy). Here’s what to do:

• Remove the cherry stem.
• Place the end of a straw where the stem was and hold the cherry with one hand.
• Press the straw into the fruit firmly but gently, and the pit will pop out the other side.
• Keep in mind, this is a messy process! Wear an apron and you may want to wear plastic gloves to keep the cherry juice from staining your hands.

Flavor variations for cherry cobbler

If you love playing with flavors, it’s simple to step up this cherry cobbler with a few adders! Here are some ideas:

• Cardamom: Use ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom in the filling, or sprinkle with a hint of ground cardamom when serving (we also love this in a cherry crisp)
• Orange: Substitute the lemon zest and juice for orange zest and juice (use ¼ teaspoon orange zest instead of ½ teaspoon)
• Amaretto or bourbon: Why not? Stir in 1 tablespoon amaretto or bourbon for a boozy boost

How to serve and storage

For this cherry cobbler make sure to allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes or more before serving to allow the textures to set. Cobbler works served plain, but we always find it’s heightened with a topping! This one is best with vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream.

While cobbler is best the day it’s made, this cherry cobbler also works made in advance! It’s best prepared the night before, but it stores up to 3 days refrigerated. Reheat in a 350°F oven until room temperature or warm before serving.

More fruit desserts

What’s better than sweets starring seasonal fruits? This cherry dessert is a favorite, and here are a few more must-make fruit desserts:

• Try Blackberry Cobbler or Easy Blueberry Cobbler
• Bake up a Blueberry Pie or Blueberry Pie Bars
• Go for Cherry Crisp, Blueberry Crumble, Peach Crisp or Peach Crumble
• Churn some Strawberry Ice Cream

01

Blackberry Cobbler

02

Blueberry Pie Bars

03

Perfect Peach Crisp

04

Cherry Crisp

This cherry cobbler recipe is…

Vegetarian.

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