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Easy Plum Cobbler Recipe
Easy Plum Cobbler made with fresh plums topped with a sweet crumbled dough.
This quick and easy Plum Cobbler is cobbled together in minutes making it a great summer dessert. As you may know, cobbler is a bit of a catch-all word that has many meanings. It may refer to a person that mends shoes (if you can find one anymore.) Or a tall, iced drink which normally includes wine, sugar, whiskey and rum.
Cobbler also refers to a mountain in Scotland near the head of Loch Long. But today we’re talking about the deep-dish fruit cobbler with the thick top crust like this easy Plum Cobbler.
However, cobblers can also be of the savory variety like our favorite Winter Vegetable Cobbler, or this incredible Tomato Cobbler, which is one of the best skillet meals I’ve ever made or eaten!
Mom often covered her cobblers with a layer of pie crust that ‘floats’ in bubbling fruit juices.
The method of using pie pastry in a cobbler is similar to the Pandowdy which is made small pieces of dough pressed down into the juices of the fruit. Our very popular Old-Fashioned Blackberry Cobbler is made with layers of pastry cooked between juicy berries.
I also make cobblers with a ‘drop-biscuit’ topping like this luscious Black Raspberry Cobbler. So as you can see, there may not be a wrong way to make a cobbler. As long as you have a floating crust over a juicy sweet or savory filling, I think you’ve got it made!
Served warm from the oven, Plum Cobbler is incredibly delicious.
When serving cobbler there’s no waiting on the dessert to set up and cool. Scoop out a nice big serving of hot plum cobbler and top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. If you’re not married, and want to be, this may be the ticket to get you down the aisle. Just saying, it may not hurt to try 😁
I would be remiss if I didn’t take a minute to talk about the amazing plum!
European plums are most often used to make prunes. However, in the United States you may notice that prunes are often referred to as dried plums.
Plums are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants that help iron absorb into the body. Prunes have also been known to help normalize blood sugar levels and are loaded with soluble fiber.
Enjoy plums like you would an apple, peach or pear. They’re juicy, sweet and have a lovely deep flavor and make a pretty great plum cobbler too!
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Easy Plum Cobbler
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 8 cups fresh plums pitted and sliced (about 8-10 large plums)
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons apple brandy (optional)
- ½ Granny Smith apple peeled and grated on a large box grater
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the topping:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter cubed and cold
- ⅔ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon coarse sugar for topping
- vanilla ice cream to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the plums, brown sugar, brandy, grated apple, cornstarch and cinnamon. Spoon the mixture into a 9" or 10" cast iron skillet or a lightly greased casserole dish.
- In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and granulated sugar. Add the butter and using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the cream and stir with a fork just until moistened. Gently press the mixture together using a spatula, forming a loose dough. Crumble the dough on top of the plum mixture. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of coarse sugar.
- Bake until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, about 45 minutes. Serve warm topped with ice cream if desired.
Recipe Notes
- We used Calvados Apple Brandy for this recipe.
Nutrition
Looking for a few more delicious recipes featuring plums?
Don’t forget about using plums in a savory dish like this 15-Minute Tangy-Sweet Plum Spiced Chicken.
I’m also loving this Plum Skillet Cake Recipe perfect any time of the day.
And how about making some homemade Plum Jam? It’s so much easier than you’d think!
Our Plum Pie and Plum Cake are also great recipes you’ll want to try. If you’re loaded with plums this season we have plenty of great recipes for you to try.
Finally, plums seem to be a forgotten fruit, bringing up the end of the line after the peaches, nectarines and apricots. Let’s help the plum rank higher on the list – eat more plums!
Cindy
The cobbler was great, but there was definitely too much liquid. The topping was not a crumble on, it was a pour on. Is there a typo? Maybe it should only be 1/3 cup heavy cream?
Tricia Buice
Hi Cindy. The recipe is correct as written. Also, I’m not sure if you meant the filling had too much liquid or just the topping. Plums will vary with the amount of juices they have so that could affect the filling. However, I’ve used this topping is many variations and other recipes as well. No problems. Sorry you had trouble but thanks for taking the time to comment.
LK
Can I freeze this uncooked?
Tricia Buice
Hi Laureen. I haven’t tried freezing it unbaked so I can’t say for certain. I think it will work but just can’t guarantee it. Let me know if you do and how it turns out!
Erin Awalt
Everything about this is perfect and delicious. I’ve never had success with cutting in cold butter and always avoided such recipes but I used a food processor and the result was light and melt-in-your-mouth. The filling was perfectly cooked. Thank you for this recipe.
Tricia Buice
Thank you Erin! I’m so happy you enjoyed it.
Laura
This is by far the best tasting cobbler.Every time I make this recipe my company requests this recipe. MM Good
Tricia Buice
Thank you Laura! I’m so glad 😁
Eva Goodson
Amazing recipe
Tricia Buice
Thanks Eva!
Chelsey
Overall the recipe was great, taste some of the plums first because you may need to add more sugar. Mine was great but came out very tart.
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the feedback Chelsey. We appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Dee-Andra
Quick and easy recipe! I had a bunch of plums on hand and needed a way to use them up, glad I found this recipe. It turned out great, not too sweet, just like I hoped! Hardest part is the time it takes to cut in the butter, but it’s worth it! I didn’t have a granny smith so I used a cosmic crisp and I left out the brandy, no complaints.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Dee-Andra. Lucky you to have a bunch of plums! Thanks for trying our recipe and for taking the time to comment.
Mike
Hi! I do not have butter on hand. Can I substitute the butter for something like margarine, or does it need to be dairy based? Looking forward to making this recipe this weekend!
Tricia Buice
Hi Mike. Margarine will work in place of the butter. Enjoy!