Having grown up in the South, I still recall how peach season was our favorite time of the year. Roadside markets were brimming with ripe, juicy peaches waiting to be turned into a luscious cobbler. This dessert is equally good served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or consumed while standing in front of the refrigerator sneaking a few bites with a spoon. Just be sure to get some of the crisp, caramelized edges.–Beth Price

What To Expect From This Southern Classic

This old-fashioned Southern classic has all the charm of a Southern belle. As tradition in the South holds, sweet oftentimes means really sweet, which many of here quite like. If that’s not your cup of sweet tea (so to speak), feel free not to add the full amount of sugar, especially if your peaches are exceptionally ripe. Regardless of how much sugar you add, you’ll be mesmerized by how the cobbler topping becomes transcendent and rises to the top of the filling while baking. Again, that Southern charm.

A pan with two handles filled with a Southern peach cobbler on a baking sheet

Southern Peach Cobbler

4.20 / 5 votes
This Southern peach cobbler is going to bring back a lot of memories. Plenty of butter, juicy, ripe peaches, milk, and vanilla make this a rich, luscious dessert few will be able to resist. Call it Southern charm.
Beth Price
CourseDessert
CuisineAmerican
Servings6 to 8 servings
Calories543 kcal
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time40 minutes
Total Time50 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 1 stick (4 oz) butter
  • 4 cups (about 2 lbs) peeled and sliced peaches (from about 6 large peaches)
  • 2 cups granulated sugar, or less to taste
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
  • Plop the stick of butter in a 9-by-9-by 2-inch (23-by-23-by-5 cm) square baking dish or a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate or a 10-by-2-inch (25-by-5 cm) round casserole pan and place it in the preheating oven just until the butter melts. You may want to let the oven door slightly ajar (even if it is summer) so you don’t forget about the butter and let it burn.
  • In a large bowl, gently toss the peaches and 1 cup sugar and let it rest while you prepare the cobbler batter until the peaches release some of their juices.
  • In a medium bowl, sift together the remaining 1 cup sugar, the flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Add the milk and vanilla and stir just until combined. Pour the batter over the melted butter but do not stir.
  • Spoon the peaches and their juices carefully on top of the batter without stirring or otherwise disrupting the batter. Place the baking dish or pie plate on the lined baking sheet. Bake until the cobbler topping rises to the surface and is golden brown and bubbly, 40 to 45 minutes.
  • Serve warm or cold, topped with ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 portionCalories: 543 kcalCarbohydrates: 96 gProtein: 5 gFat: 17 gSaturated Fat: 10 gMonounsaturated Fat: 4 gTrans Fat: 1 gCholesterol: 45 mgSodium: 34 mgFiber: 2 gSugar: 77 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Mention @leitesculinaria or tag #leitesculinaria!
Recipe © 2018 Beth Price. Photo © 2018 Beth Price. All rights reserved.

Recipe Testers’ Reviews

This Southern peach cobbler is luscious. It’s also easy to make and a visual delight as well as absolutely delicious. Not too sweet, just right! You will be glad you made this and so will everyone else…

I made the recipe with whole milk and did not add any salt. My batter was a very thin batter and I wasn’t sure exactly what it was supposed to be so I just kept on pouring it into the baking dish. It worked, so it must not have been too far off the mark!

I’ve made this Southern peach cobbler, or a variation of it, for years. It’s so simple, foolproof, and easy to throw together at the last minute. It’s not a traditional biscuit-type cobbler, but rather a more cake-y dessert. In a pinch I’ve used canned or prepared pie filling. All you need is vanilla ice cream. It’s also good for breakfast (leftovers, if you have any!).

This Southern peach cobbler truly brought me back to my grandmother’s kitchen. Her homemade peach cobbler is one of a couple desserts I remember most from growing up.

I love the way you build this cobbler from “the bottom up.” Melting the butter in the baking dish, pouring the perfect crust batter over that, and then the grand finale of fresh, sliced peaches. After exactly 45 minutes of baking, the crust had risen to the top of the baking dish and nestled itself around the peaches. It was barely starting to brown on the top so the crust was cooked but just the right amount to where it was still tender.

I used less sugar overall because the peaches I had were on the sweet side–I used only 1/4 cup on the peaches and 1/2 cup in the batter. I bet this recipe would work well with many other fruits as well–apples, berries, you name it. But I think peach is and always will be the best choice of fruits for the cobbler.

Thanks for sharing this recipe. It goes down as a classic in my recipe folder…along with a dollop of vanilla ice cream, of course.

I can tell how good a recipe is, especially a fruit cobbler, by how many times I go back after eating a portion to pull a few more forkfuls from the cut edges—in this case, edges that were seeping with cooling fruit and juices. Yes, it’s that good. And ridiculously easy.

Though I started with a large bag of peaches, the caregiver must have been slicing some for my mother because I didn’t have enough for 4 cups! So, I did 2 1/2 cups sliced peaches and a 1/2 cup blueberries. However, I used full portions of everything else except the sugar; I just used 1 cup, divided, because I had a mix of ripe and less ripe peaches and sweet blueberries and don’t like overly sweet cobblers. I also used whole milk, not a mixture, and so added a dash of salt, as suggested. Even with a full batter recipe, the butter appeared to overwhelm the mixture.

We tasted portions with whipped cream while the dessert was still fairly hot because we couldn’t wait. Though delicious, I wonder if a half stick of butter would work.

This Southern peach cobbler is delicious! The recipe is so simple and trouble-free I was concerned it was not going to work. It only took 3 large peaches to get 4 cups of sliced fruit. I used 1/4 cup heavy cream to 3/4 cup coconut or almond milk. While layering the initial ingredients, I resisted the urge to stir. It produced a golden brown, crunchy, chewy, gooey, peachy dessert. It is so delightful it didn’t even need ice cream or whipped cream.

This Southern peach cobbler sure was a snap to make. My peaches were ripe so I added a little less sugar and I used whole milk but I think if I make this again I would make it richer by adding the half and half. Served it right out of the oven, just to myself, HOT but still good, no ice cream not because I didn’t have any and I wanted to try the natural flavors of the peaches. A not-too-rich dessert.

This is one of the best peach cobblers I’ve made in a long while. I used half a bushel (about 12) of fresh peaches from our local farm because they were on the slightly smaller size. If you used larger peaches I would suggest using about 8.

If you are like me, who is not the best at baking (or simply lack a patience for it!) yet want to impress your family and friends, this is a perfect recipe for you.

I ended up buying too many peaches (which now I am glad about as I am already doing a second cobbler). I ended up using 5 peaches. As I was looking for sugar, I realized I had none, so I ended up using confectioners’ sugar and decided to only use 3/4 cup for the peaches and the same for the batter. Also, as I was adding the milk, I realized I only had a tiny amount of 1% milk so ended up using a blend of 1% milk, heavy cream, and soy milk. As I did not have a 9-inch pan I used a typical round 10-inch pie dish.

Everything took about 10 minutes to prepare which is the perfect amount for my baking patience! And 40 minutes was perfect timing. I ended up bring the cobbler to a kids’ party and we all enjoyed it with some vanilla ice cream.

So after all these mishaps I can say that this recipe is not only easy to make as works even with a few mistakes in the midst of it! This is a recipe to repeat (doing it right now, but this time adding a few drops of port wine to the peaches, too).

I did like this Southern peach cobbler. It was super simple and it is a recipe that can be made on the fly when you need to throw together something sweet in a pinch.

I think it could stand a little lemon juice and zest just to give it that extra oomph. There was one thing. If you are into textures, this cobbler after a day or so gets kind of soft and so for those who don’t like “mushy,” this recipe could be a problem. Eat it all on the first day! It’s good enough to do so!




About Beth Price

Beth has been a foodie since before the term was coined. While friends went to Paris and came back with suitcases of clothes, she came back laden with a mandoline and copper cookware from E. Dehillerin. Today she’s the Director of Recipe Testing for Leite’s Culinaria. She’s also assisted cookbook author Nathalie Dupree with recipe testing and helped edit her newest cookbook. Beth divides her time between Charleston, South Carolina, and Grand Cayman.


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14 Comments

  1. Yes if you use canned peaches how many cans and what size, also would I pour the juice in. Thanks for helping Mary

    1. Mary, you need about 4 cups of sliced peaches, so depending on what size your cans are, probably 2 or 3. I wouldn’t add the juice as it would likely make the cobbler too runny. Do let us know how it turns out!