Blackberry Cobbler

Make this recipe for a tasty Blackberry Cobbler using fresh berries and just a few kitchen staples! It’s sweet, juicy, buttery, and the perfect easy summer dessert.

This biscuit-topped blackberry cobbler is so simple to make! It takes just minutes to throw together, and you’ll be rewarded with a warm, syrupy, sweet dessert, that is only made better with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

You might also like this Strawberry Galette recipe. It’s a rustic and easy to make strawberry pie.

Cobbler, Crisp, or Crumble?

There are many ways to make a baked fruit dessert, and they all go by different names. Aside from cobblers, crisps, and crumbles, there are also buckles, betties, slumps, and pandowdies!

I’ll let you research those odd ones, and explain the difference between the most popular types of fruit desserts.

A crumble is a baked fruit dish with a cake-like streusel crumb topping, and a crisp is similar, but the topping is lighter and crispier, typically including oats. Fruit cobbler, like this easy blackberry cobbler, is also a baked fruit dish, topped with a sweet drop biscuit batter. It’s called a cobbler because the topping resembles a cobblestone street.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

1. No Stovetop – Some recipes for blackberry cobbler will have you cook the filling on the stove before adding it to the dish. In this recipe, all of the cooking is done in the oven. Your filling will be thick and rich, with perfectly cooked fruit and topping.
2. Like Pie, But Way Easier – If you don’t have the patience for making and rolling out pie dough (or making a lattice top crust), then this recipe is exactly what you need. Cobbler is a treat to make compared to a complicated fruit pie.
3. Classic Recipe – This cobbler is just like home cooks have been making forever! It’s a simple way to make a delicious dessert using fresh fruit and simple ingredients.
4. Thick Busciut Topping– The buttery, sweet drop biscuit topping on this blueberry cobbler is thick, fluffy, and crispy on the outside. It’s just perfect!

Ingredients In This Blackberry Cobbler Recipe

Here’s what you need to make this easy and yummy dessert!

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

• Blackberries: I recommend using fresh blackberries to make cobbler, but you can also use frozen ones. If you do decide to use frozen blackberries, don’t thaw them. I always make sure to rinse fresh berries with cool water to remove any dirt or leaves from the packaging.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar mixes with the juice from the berries to create a delicious syrupy sauce. If your blackberries are already very sweet you can reduce the sugar by a tablespoon or so.
• Lemon Juice: A small bit of fresh lemon adds an acidic flavor note and helps to balance the sweetness of the filling.
• Vanilla: To season the fruit filling, you can either add vanilla extract or a pinch of ground cinnamon. Or go nuts and use them both!
• Cornstarch: If you’re in the UK you might know this as cornflour. As the blackberry filling heats up in the oven the starch will thicken the liquid.

Ingredients in Cobbler Topping

• Butter: To make light and tasty drop biscuit dough we’ll start with very cold butter. Cut the butter into cubes, and keep it in the refrigerator until you need it.
• Flour, Baking Powder, Salt, and Sugar: These dry ingredients will be mixed with the butter to create the dough.
• Cold Milk, Egg: Add moisture to the dough with these common ingredients. They also help with browning. Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl before adding it to the mixture.
• Coarse sanding sugar: This is optional, but I love the crispy texture this adds when it’s sprinkled and baked on the top of the cobbler biscuits.

How To Make Blackberry Cobbler

1. Make Blackberry Filling: In a pie dish, an 8×8 inch baking dish, or a cast-iron skillet, combine the blackberries with sugar, lemon juice, vanilla or cinnamon, and cornstarch. Mix well, but gently, and set aside. Preheat the oven while you make the cobbler topping.
2. Make Cobbler Topping: Add the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar) to a mixing bowl. Then add the cold butter cubes and cut into the butter with a pastry cutter, forks, or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the milk and egg until just combined.

1. Scoop: Use a large cookie scoop, an ice cream scoop, or two spoons to spoon the dough into portions over the fruit mixture. If you like, sprinkle the dough with coarse sugar.
2. Bake: Place the dish in the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 350°F/180°C. You’ll know that the cobbler is done when the fruit is bubbly and the topping is golden brown.

Recipe Tips

• Let the cobbler cool for at least 5 minutes before serving it so that nobody burns their mouth! Cobber is best when served warm, topped with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
• Vanilla and Cinnamon are both tasty and traditional flavorings for this dish. I generally prefer the flavor of vanilla but enjoy it both ways, so I’m giving you a choice.
• Don’t overwork the dough. This light and sweet biscuit dough topping will get chewy if you stir it too much. When you add the milk and egg, use a spatula to gently stir so that the flour is absorbed, and then stop.

Storing Tips

You can store any leftover blackberry cobbler in a covered container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Cobbler really is best eaten shortly after baking if you want it to stay fresh.

Leftover cobbler will get a bit soggy in the fridge, but it will still taste delicious. I suggest heating servings in the microwave and topping them with vanilla ice cream.

Keep reading if you want to make a cobbler ahead of time and keep the topping crisp and light!

How to Make Blackberry Cobbler Ahead of Time

It’s important to store cobbler in a way that allows the topping to stay crisp and crumbly.

Once the blackberry cobbler has been baked, it will be nearly impossible to keep the topping from getting soggy.

This is because it will continue to absorb the liquid from the filling, If you want to make this dish ahead of time, you’ll need to do things a little bit differently.

To make cobbler ahead of time, cook the filling and the topping separately, and combine them before serving.

• Bake the jammy blackberry filling as directed in the recipe, and bake scoop the cobbler topping onto a parchment-lined baking sheet, and bake that according to the recipe. Allow both to cool. Store the filling in the refrigerator, and store the topping in a ziploc bag on the counter.
• Before serving, add the topping to the fruit, and warm the dessert in a 350°F/180°C oven for about 15 minutes.

Following this method, you can make your cobbler up to 3 days ahead of time.

How to Freeze blackberry Cobbler

Another way to make this dish ahead of time is to prepare it and freeze it. This is an excellent way to preserve fresh blackberries and enjoy this delicious summer dessert later in the year.

• Prepare the blackberry filling, pour it into a freezer-safe pie dish, and freeze, unbaked. Be sure to wrap it well, and it should stay fine in the freezer for 4-5 months.
• When you’re ready to bake and enjoy the cobbler, bake the frozen fruit filling in a 350°F/180°C oven for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally until the blackberries are hot and bubbly.
• Mix the ingredients for the biscuit topping, add to the hot filling, and bake for an additional 20-30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly browned.

What To Serve With Blackberry Cobbler

An easy to make cobbler made from fresh berries is amazing to make in the summer when blackberries are local and at their peak freshness.

Enjoy blackberry cobbler for dessert the next time you entertain in your yard or on your patio! These are some of my favorite summer party meals:

Grilling or Smoking: A Smoked Whole Chicken, Grilled Beer Can Chicken, or a plate of Grilled Shrimp Kabobs will set the stage for a delicious summer meal.

Summer Side Dishes: Try Caesar Pasta Salad, Mediterranean Chickpea Salad, or Dill Pickle Pasta Salad.

Be sure to check out all of my Summer Recipes to get lots of ideas for classic and unique bbq dishes.

FAQs

This truly is the perfect summer dessert! Save the recipe though, and make it with frozen berries when you need a taste of blackberry cobbler in the fall or winter months too. It’s delicious any time of year and I know you’re going to love it.