Easy Apple Cobbler Recipe (2024)

Aug 16, 2022 · 29 Comments

Easy Apple Cobbler recipe with a sweet soft cake topping over tart, buttery spiced apples. This delightful, sweet Fall apple treat that will quickly become a family favorite.

Easy Apple Cobbler

Well Summer is officially over for us. My kids except the baby are back to school. It's rainy, chilly, and the leaves are changing.

While I'm reluctant to put away the grill for the season, I know that it's that time here in the Midwest, and I now have visions of apples and cinnamon and Fall in my head.

So we're going to start with the baking season with this absolutely perfect and ridiculously easy apple cobbler recipe.

Imagine with me. Buttery cinnamon apples tucked under a soft cake cobbler with more cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top. The smell of cinnamon spices and sweet apples drifting through your cozy house.

Yup. It's officially (unofficially) Fall. Time to get baking! Your senses will thank you.

Top with ice cream for a perfect warm, spiced Fall dessert.

What's the Difference Between an Apple Cobbler, Apple Crisp, and Apple Crumble?!

What's the difference?! Is there even a difference? Yes, there actually is, though it's subtle, and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.

All three are baked fruit desserts. The difference is in the

topping!

• Cobbler will have a cake or biscuit-like topping, depending on the region they're made. They will all however have some sort of dough or batter on top that turns cake-y when baked. This apple cobbler recipe will use a thin pancake-like batter and bake up soft and finely crumbed.
• Crisp is topped with a flour, sugar, and oat mixture. Sometimes nuts are also added. When it's baked, the topping "crisps" up and becomes crunchy, thus the name.
• Crumble is now used interchangeably with crisp. However, it traditionally had a similar crumbly topping like a crisp, but with no oats.

What are the Best Apples to Use for Apple Cobbler?

The best apples for cobbler are just your classic baking apples. The most common baking apples are Granny Smith and Honeycrisp, because of their slight tartness and their ability to keep shape when baking.

Braeburn, Cortland, and Jonagold are some more options that are great for baking, but I usually have a more difficult time finding these varieties outside of an actual orchard.

I use Granny Smith apples most often because they're easy to find, and very cost effective.

Stay away from "dessert" or "eating" apples such as Delicious (red and golden), Gala, Fuji, and McIntosh. These apples are softer and sweeter and will not hold up well in baking (though they do make great applesauce!)

Should I Peel the Apples?

If you want! I prefer to peel mine, but it's a matter of preference.

It's not necessary, but when you bake an apple the flesh becomes very soft, while the skin will remain intact. This sometimes leads to a difference in texture when you get a bite with skin versus without.

But if it doesn't bother you or you're short on time, you can go ahead and skip the apple peeling and your cobbler will still come out amazing!

More Apple Recipes You'll Love

• Apple Brown Betty - Quick and easy dessert with baked apples and a graham cracker topping.
• Snickers Caramel Apple Salad - a dessert more than a salad with candy bar pieces, caramel, and apple bites in a creamy base.
• Apple Butter - fresh apples simmered with spices, all in the slow cooker!
• Classic Apple Pie - a classic for a reason. This pie features homemade filling and it's the best you'll ever have.
• Slow Cooker Applesauce - the easiest applesauce recipe ever.