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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!
Thanks for PINNING!
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!
NESA
Hello, I made my cobbler but came out super tart. Anything I can change next time?? A friend said to peel the skin of the plums.
Tricia Buice
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!
Dawn
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!!
Tricia Buice
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!
Melissa
I made this for supper and it was a huge hit. I used a couple of teaspoons of vanilla instead of the apple brandy. Everyone loved it!
Tricia Buice
Thanks so much Melissa! This is a favorite for sure and I bet the vanilla was a lovely replacement for the brandy. Bravo 😉
Sabrina
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.
Tricia Buice
Wow Sabrina – you really did a great job working with what you had on hand. So glad you enjoyed your first cobbler!
Christina
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.
Tricia Buice
I am curious to hear how this turns out with your changes Christina. Sounds great, good luck.
Maya
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?
Tricia Buice
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!
GG
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.
Tricia Buice
Hi Grace. Peeling the plums is fine but they are pretty soft so it’s more difficult than peeling something like apples. The skins are thin so they cook beautifully and get very soft. Maybe peel half and leave the skin on the other half? Either way, this is a delicious cobbler and I hope you enjoy!
Allison
I’m about to start my version… I’m wondering if I can just use a premade pie crust for the top with sprinkle of sugar??
Tricia Buice
Hi Allison. You can use a pre-made crust, but this recipe uses a biscuit dough instead of crust. Hope it turns out for you.
Audelynn
Can I also bake this in a ceramic pie tin?
Tricia Buice
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.
JeannaMarie
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!!
Tricia Buice
Sounds terrific Jeanna Marie! Thanks so much for giving this a try and for coming back to let us know how it turned out for you. Love the addition of almond extract – great stuff!
Tasty Made
There is no mention of when to add the apple. I assume it is mixed in with the plums.
Tricia Buice
Thanks for catching that! I fixed it and updated the recipe. You assumed correctly 😉
Alia @ Everyday Easy Eats
Hi Tricia! I have to tell you how much I appreciate this recipe because it is made with plums! Plums are one of my absolute favorite fruits and I don’t see enough recipes that use them. Your plum cobbler looks so comforting and delicious. I wish I could have a slice of it right now! 🙂
Tricia Buice
Another super easy repose Alia – and everyone loves it. The topping is super delicious as well as the juicy plums. Enjoy!
Susan
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever baked with plums! Not sure why because your cobbler looks spectacular! Love the grated apple in the recipe too.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Susan – plums are so easy to bake with – hope you’ll give it a try!
John/Kitchen Riffs
Mmmm, love plums! And they’re terrific in baked things. I’ve made plum cobbler before — good isn’t it? Yours looks particularly tasty — really nice topping. Thanks!
Tricia Buice
Thank you John! This is a very nice topping – we love it!
Neva walker
Plum filling was great,but the topping not so much.too much butter,greasey.. can I use less, a lot less?
Tricia Buice
Hi Neva. I’ve never made this with less butter so I can’t say if it will work. I will say that I’ve made this so many times and have used the same topping on other cobblers too. I’ve never had trouble with it. The only thing I can recommend is to check your butter. One year I had a bad box of butter that kept splitting and ruined three batches of cookies before I knew it wasn’t me. Perhaps you could try a different brand of good quality butter?
Pam
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!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Pam – I bet you would love it! So juicy and naturally sweet. Have a terrific week.
Mary
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.
Tricia Buice
Thank you Mary! Cobbler for dinner is okay with me 🙂 Enjoy!
Monica
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.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Monica – fruit desserts are the best, especially when the fruits are at their best. Hope you’ll give this a try because it’s tasty for sure! Thanks for stopping by.
Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles
So very lovely. I’ve never baked with plums (sad!!).
Tricia Buice
Thank you Brenda! Poor plums – not getting enough love – haha – hope you’ll give it a try!
Chris Scheuer
My favorite kind of dessert! I would always pick a warm fruit dessert over any fancy chocolate or other sweet treat. This one definitely looks “restaurant quality”!
Tricia Buice
Me too Chris – warm fruit desserts are always the best! Thanks 🙂
cakespy
This is gorgeous. I can practically taste the late summer bounty!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Jessie – we love a good cobbler and are very happy with this topping!
Jennifer @ Seasons and Suppers
For some reason I never think of cooking with plums. I don’t know why, but you’ve reminded me I need to change my thinking. This looks fabulous 🙂
Tricia Buice
I have a thing for plum jam Jennifer – we should make some!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
Wish my cobbler looked half as good as yours, Tricia. This looks fabulous!
Tricia Buice
Oh your cobblers look fantastic Angie – and I bet they taste as good as they look!
Brenda
Have you ever used frozen plums for this recipe, or know anyone who has?
Just not sure it would be as good as with fresh.
Tricia Buice
Hi Brenda. I haven’t tried using frozen plums and don’t see any comments where our readers have tried it either. My biggest concern would be that it will turn out a bit watery. Perhaps you can try making a smaller, half recipe to be sure before serving to company or making for an event. I would leave the fruit slightly frozen and bake just a little longer. Please let us know if this works for you!
sue | theviewfromgreatisland
Plums are the best summer fruit, they cook up like nothing else! And I love your grated apple trick, I’m going to use it in all my pies going forward, it’s genius 🙂 Pinning and sharing, yum!!
Tricia Buice
They really are Sue! I love eating them – but only when I am at a table with lots of paper towels – guess I’m messy 🙂
Anna
Hi, Can I use dried plums instead of fresh?
Tricia Buice
Hi Anna. I don’t think it would turn out the same. Fresh plums are very juicy. You would have to rehydrate the dried plums and add a lot of water. Even then I don’t think the fruit would soften enough to be cobbler-like. I like using dried fruits for jammy type bars and cookies, but only fresh or frozen for cobblers. Great question!
Anna
Thank you