Cobbler vs. Crisp: Differences Between Crisps and Cobblers

Fruit cobblers are a freeform dessert with a fruit base and biscuit topping. The name cobbler comes from the shape of the batter or biscuit dough dropped in dollops on the fruit, which puff up to look like cobblestone streets. The old-fashioned name matches the old-fashioned fruit dessert, which dates back to the nineteenth century.

Any ripe fruit can be used in the dessert to create a variety of cobblers, from a standard peach cobbler or a rhubarb with marshmallows. This deep-dish baked fruit dessert doubles down on biscuit dough, with the dollops as well as a layer of biscuit dough on the bottom. Other cobbler recipes utilize pie dough, which is thinner, or a pie crust to save time.

Fruit crisps have a golden brown streusel crumble topping made of a combination of butter, brown sugar, oats, flour, and more. Both the fruit and the topping tend to have a slight “crisp” to them, allowing it to pair with the silky texture of a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

To cut down on cooking and prep time, some crisp recipes use pie crust or cake batter for the base. You can use any type of frozen or fresh fruit for a crisp, though apple crisps are one of the most common varieties.

Some bakers may consider crisps a kind of cobbler, while others would categorize crisps as a specific crumble recipe. Still, others consider each a separate and unique dessert. While both are fruit desserts that can be made in the oven in a baking dish, or on a stovetop skillet, cobblers and crisps have nuanced differences, including:

• Exterior: Cobblers are denser due to the biscuit dough topping and base, while crisps use oats and a streusel topping, making them lighter. Cobbler toppings are also likely not a full layer like a crisp or pie. Instead, the biscuit dough dollops often sit on top as individual biscuits.
• Interior: Crisps get their name primarily from their crisp, streusel crumb topping, but the interior fruits can be slightly crispy as well. In contrast, cobblers are soft-centered and often include a biscuit dough bottom crust.
• Core ingredients: While both desserts come in myriad fruit fillings, the crisp can be more creative by including nuts and maple drizzles.
• Coffee cake: There are recipes for coffee cake cobblers and coffee cake crisps, however, the crumbly nature of coffee cake and solid form is more in line with crisp recipes.

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