Apricot Cobbler Recipe: How to Make Fresh Apricot Cobbler
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Jul 1, 2024 • 3 min read
This apricot cobbler is a simple, quick, and versatile recipe that will help you use up an abundance of summer apricots. You can even adapt it to include other fruits that pair well with apricots like peaches, blueberries, or blackberries.
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What Is Apricot Cobbler?
Apricot cobbler is a rustic, freeform dessert consisting of a thick, macerated fruit base made of this sweet, fleshy stone fruit. The fruit base is topped with dollops of fluffy, semi-sweet biscuit dough. Named after the cobblestone-like appearance of the baked cobbler crust, this dish can be prepped in minutes for a quick and easy dessert option year-round.
In comparison to apricot pie, which requires a more practiced hand and rigid process, cobbler is a more relaxed dessert requiring little to no baking experience. Other popular varieties of cobbler include blueberry cobbler, rhubarb cobbler, and peach cobbler.
5 Tips for Making Apricot Cobbler
Apricot cobbler is a simple dessert that home cooks and bakers of any skill level can master, but there are a few rules of thumb to follow for the best possible result.
- 1. Use fresh fruit, when available. Fruit is the showcase of any cobbler, and the best tasting cobblers utilize fresh, ripe fruit that is in season. Avoid using canned apricots for your filling, which will produce a soggy, saccharine dessert. If fresh apricots are not available to you, you can use frozen apricots without making your cobbler mushy.
- 2. Mix and match fruits. Experiment with the flavor of this cobbler by adding other fruits to your fruit base. Apricots pair well with other stone fruits, like peaches, nectarines, and plums, as well as tart berries, like blackberries and blueberries.
- 3. Don’t forget the starch. Adding a starch like cornstarch or baking powder to your fruit filling is imperative. Starches help to absorb some of the juices in your fruit filling, preventing any overflows and soggy crusts in the process.
- 4. Leave space in between your topping clusters. Leave some spaces between your clumps of cobbler topping as you scatter it over the top of your fruit filling. This leaves some ventilation space for your fruit filling as your cobbler bakes and should prevent your cobbler topping from getting soggy.
- 5. Use a food thermometer. Your cobbler topping may brown up quickly on top, but still be raw in the middle. To ensure your cobbler topping is cooked all the way through, insert a food thermometer through the thickest part of the dough. Once the topping has reached a temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit, the cobbler is ready to eat.
Fresh Apricot Cobbler Recipe
makes
prep time
10 mintotal time
55 mincook time
45 minIngredients
For the filling:
For the topping:
- 1
Preheat the oven to 380 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 2
Combine the chopped apricots, sugar, butter, cornstarch, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Stir the ingredients to incorporate. This will be the apricot filling for your cobbler.
- 3
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the cubed butter to the flour mixture, working it in with your hands as you go until it has reached the texture of coarse bread crumbs.
- 4
In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the egg, vanilla extract, and ½ cup of the buttermilk.
- 5
Add the buttermilk mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir with your hands or a rubber spatula until combined. This will be your cobbler topping.
- 6
Transfer the apricot filling to a 9”x13” baking dish, and spread the fruit out into a single layer.
- 7
Tear off a palm-sized piece of topping and place it over the fruit. Continue this process with the remaining dough, leaving space between the pieces to create a cobbled effect.
- 8
Brush the top of the dough with the remaining buttermilk, then sprinkle with Demerara sugar.
- 9
Bake the cobbler until the top of the dough is golden brown and the apricot mixture is thick and bubbling, which should take about 45 minutes.
- 10
Remove the pan from the oven. Let the cobbler cool slightly before serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of whipped cream.
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