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Easy Plum Cobbler Recipe

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Easy Plum Cobbler made with fresh plums topped with a sweet crumbled dough.

 

A skillet filled with a fruit cobbler

This Plum Cobbler is cobbled together for a quick and easy dessert featuring these delicious, juicy fruits.

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. And 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!

 

An overhead view of a plum cobbler with a golden brown crust on top

Mom often covered her cobblers with a layer of pie crust that ‘floated’ in the bubbling fruit juices.

The method of using pie pastry i 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 sweet or savory filling, I think you’ve got it made!

 

A plate with plum cobbler with a spoon and a scoop of vanilla ice cream

Plum Cobbler is incredibly delicious served warm from the oven.

No waiting on the pie to set up and cool.  Scoop out a nice big serving of 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 🙂

 

A cast iron skillet filled with a fruit dessert with a crumbled dough on top with scoops of ice cream

I would be remiss if I didn’t take a minute to talk about the amazing plum!

European plums are used to make prunes, but in the US, you may notice they are often referred to as dried plums.  Loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, plums can also help with iron absorption into the body.  Prunes have 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 are juicy, sweet and have a lovely deep flavor, and make a pretty great plum cobbler too!

 

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A skillet with fresh plum cobbler topped with scoops of vanilla ice cream

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A skillet filled with plum cobbler
5 from 8 votes

Easy Plum Cobbler

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cook Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins
Yield: 8
Course: Dessert
Author: Tricia
PRINT RECIPE
Sliced fresh plums topped with a sweet crumbled dough, cobbled together for a quick and easy dessert featuring these delicious, juicy fruits.

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 unbleached 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.
  • 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.

Here are a few of the tools used when making this plum cobbler (each photo is clickable):

     

The small print: If you decide to purchase something at Amazon after following my affiliate link, I receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, which I use to pay for web hosting and services for this blog.

Looking for a few more delicious recipes featuring plums?  Try this super simple Plum Crisp from The View from Great Island.  Don’t forget about using plums in a savory dish like this 15-Minute Tangy-Sweet Plum Spiced Chicken from Noble Pig.  I’m also loving this Plum Skillet Cake Recipe from She Wears Many Hats. And finally, how about making some homemade Plum Jam from Serious Eats?

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!

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66 Comments

  3. Lynette says

    Question… Can you freeze the plum cobbler?
    Also, I have a fully loaded pear tree every year, I just discovered you can make a pear cobbler. Question if you have experimented using pears can you freeze a pear cobbler?

    reply to this comment >

  6. kanina says

    5 stars
    OMG I’ve never made a cobbler and this was a H I T! I Had some pretty ripe plums I didn’t want to toss, ran across this recipe and WOWSA!! Thanks for the easy to follow recipe. I’m making this again for sure!

    reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      That’s terrific Kanina! So glad you tried our recipe and enjoyed it. Cobbling together a luscious fruit dessert is worth every minute prepping the fruit. We adore cobblers and are so glad this turned out good for you, too. Thanks for the feedback!

      reply to this comment >

  7. Amie says

    5 stars
    Thank you for this recipe! It just came out of oven and looks and smells amazing! I’ve never made a cobbler before but had a some plums I needed to use up. OH MAN, my fiancé and I are excited is excited to dig in once it cools a little

    reply to this comment >

    • Lala eomi says

      I made this the other night and it was so good! My first cobbler and will definitely make this again. I got some plums at the Farmers market and found this recipe to use them up. I didn’t peel the apple just grated it in, used milk cause I didn’t have cream and also used a fork instead of the pastry blender. It still turned out fantastic. I might try a pinch of nutmeg or cardamom next time. Paired with a good vanilla ice cream, it’s divine.

      reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Hi Nesa. Sounds like the plums were not yet ripe. Plums are much sweeter when fully ripe. Also, there are so many varieties of plums, each with a unique flavor. Hope you’ll try again and add a little more sugar if the plums are too tart. Hope this helps!

      reply to this comment >

  9. Dawn says

    5 stars
    Hi Tricia,
    I made this last night and it tastes amazing!! However it was very watery, what did I do wrong? I decided to actually bake more plum dessert recipes this year after having a plum tree for 15 years lol. I’m discovering that almost every recipe that I make turns out watery like this. Any ideas?

    Thank You so much for sharing this recipe!!

    reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Hi Dawn! Make sure you plums are not overly ripe. Something a little more firm might be best. Also be sure to use cornstarch to thicken the juices. The sauce will thicken as it cools a bit, is this what you’ve found? If using overly ripe plums, perhaps you’ll want to use more cornstarch to thicken. The addition of apple will help too. Don’t skip that extra natural pectin. Thanks for the feedback and the great question!

      reply to this comment >

  11. Sabrina says

    5 stars
    I’ve never mad e cobbler before and came into a large abundance of plums and pears. Not being a huge plum eater, I wasn’t too sure what to do with them. So I searched google, and found this recipe. I went a bit off script because I didn’t have all the ingredients. First, I used a whole pear instead of half a Granny Smith apple. Second, I had some buckwheat flour left over from another recipe and decided to use it in the dough. I used half a cup of buckwheat and half a cup of all purpose flour. Third, I used a tbsp of spiced rum and a tbsp of apply cider vinegar in place of the apple brandy. Lastly, I warmed up 3/4 coconut milk with 1/3 cup of butter and whisked that together for my heavy cream. I let this cool.
    Because this was my first attempt, I really didn’t know how this was going to turn out with all my changes. I just used what I had on hand. I am pleasantly surprised and happy that my cobbler came out so well! It’s absolutely delicious. Super stoked about that! That’s for the recipe! It really is quite easy to follow and I had a lot of fun experimenting.

    reply to this comment >

  12. Christina says

    Thanks for the recipe, it’s currently baking. I didn’t have heavy whipping cream so substituted with sweet condensed milk and skipped the sugar in the dough. Added some desiccated coconut to the dough as it seemed a bit wet. Hoping it turns out.

    reply to this comment >

  13. Maya says

    5 stars
    Hello,
    Thank you for the recipe!! I have a plum tree and a blackberry bush and both are giving lots of fruit rn.
    What do you think about adding blackberries to the plums? Would you change the recipe in any way if blackberries are added?

    reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Hi Maya! I love the combination of blackberries and plums and would not change a thing except add the blackberries to the fruit mixture. I used that delicious combo in a recipe for bar you can find HERE. So if you have extra – you may want to try the bars too 🙂 Good luck and thanks so much!

      reply to this comment >

    • GG says

      I love plums for their deep rich earthy flavor but I generally don’t like the skins of fruit in my ‘pies’ etc. because they don’t break down well enough. I haven’t baked much with plums but I would like to try this recipe. Do you think it would be OK if I peeled the fruit? If anyone else has tried that please comment. Thanx.

      reply to this comment >

    • Tricia Buice says

      Hi Audelynn (your name is so pretty!) Yes that will be fine as long as it is a deep dish pie plate. If it won’t all fit, pour any remaining fruit and topping into an extra smaller dish and bake it too. One to keep and one to give away! Enjoy – this is a delicious cobbler.

      reply to this comment >

      • JeannaMarie says

        Super fabulous recipe! Thank you for sharing, I added some milled flax seed along with wheat flour & unbleached white… my plums where sitting in the fridge I didn’t want to throw them out, but was afraid of their taste. I added some almond extract. Super yum!!

        reply to this comment >

  19. Pam says

    It looks delicious, like the perfect dessert, Tricia! I really like plums but have never really baked using them. You have inspired me to change that! Your topping with whipping cream sounds awesome and tasty for the plums. Thanks for the recipe!

    reply to this comment >

  20. Mary says

    Love anything with Plum. That little tang from the Plums is lovely in the mouth – not too sweet. Starting to think now – Plum and Almond. Think I might have Plum Cobbler for after dinner – or maybe for dinner!!! Your cobble looks nice and crispy not heavy and dense. Yum, so nice.

    reply to this comment >

  21. Monica says

    This looks amazing, Tricia! We didn’t get to have pies/cobblers when we were in S.C. last week and I’m a little sad about it (so much to eat/so little time and space!)…maybe I need to make it myself at home. As much as I love chocolate desserts, I have really come to appreciate the deliciousness of a warm fruit dessert – particularly paired with ice cream! Love how this is a unique plum cobbler, too.

    reply to this comment >
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