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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!
Catherine
made this and everyone raved about it. Good recipe.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Catherine!
Patty
I only have salted butter on hand and milk. What do you think of me leaving out the salt and using salted butter?
Tricia Buice
Hi Patty. I think salted butter is perfect. You can leave out the salt or reduce by half. Milk should be fine but start with a little less and add more if needed. Enjoy!
Chris Clark
I think 2/3 cup cream is too much for the topping….had to add a lot of flour to get it to resemble dough instead of mush. I’d add 1/3 cup, then increase if necessary.
soom
Since flour moisture content can vary so much from ambient humidity, I usually reserve some of the liquid, just fold dry into wet gently then add remaining dairy as needed. Going strictly by ANY recipe is not a guarantee–it’s helpful to develop a memory of what feels right. My Aunt never used a spoon to mix thicker batters and doughs–just deft and gentle use of her hands. I love cobblers and try different herbs and savory spices to the dough, according to the fruit(s) used.
Nicola
Sounds good and fairly easy so will give it a go tomorrow !
Tricia Buice
Thanks Nicola. Can’t wait to hear how it turned out 🙂
Jed
Wow, well into autumn here, but have heaps in the freezer courtesy of neighbours tree.
The plums are large and reasonably tart so increased the brown sugar to 1/2 cup.
Went down a treat right balance of sweetness and sharpness, cooked it for 55 minutes as plums were still frozen and kept an eye on the top.
Perfection, will definitely make again.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Jed! How lucky you are to have a freezer full of plums. Enjoy
Amber
Can I make this in a baking dish instead of a cast iron?
Tricia Buice
Yes you can Amber! Hope you enjoy this cobbler as much as we do.
Jodi
Delicious and perfect! I had a bunch of plums that needed to be used, and this was a great way to use them up. Thank you!
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the feedback Jodi. So glad you enjoyed this easy cobbler.
Lois
This is the best cobbler I have ever made or eaten. The crust is a perfect cross between pie crust topping and biscuit topping. Not too sweet or spiced up so the delicious plum flavor is delectable!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Lois! I’m so glad you tried this cobbler. It’s a delicious summer treat for sure 😉
Dorothy
Only had 7 cups of very ripe plums and glad I didn’t use the 8 cups the recipe called for as it boiled over. Had placed a pan underneath. Turned out beautifully! Really good stuff.
Tricia Buice
Glad you liked it Dorothy!
Teresa
I should have read this comment first because my 8 cups of plums massively boiled over setting off every smoke detector in the house. 🙁
Obviously my homegrown plums were too juicy. Not only did it boil over, but the topping was soggy on the bottom even though the top was golden brown. Probably soaked up too much of the juice?
Carolina
I don’t have any apples, but we have tons and tons of small plums we harvested from a neighbor’s tree. Is there something I can replace the grated apple with? I don’t think I have anything apple like on hand – strawberries, blueberries, grapes, limes, plums… any ideas that don’t involve me going to the store for apples?
Tricia Buice
What a lucky duck you are Carolina! All those fresh plums, how yummy. I could increase the cornstarch to 1/4 cup and skip the apple. No worries. A cobbler is supposed to be juicy and this will be terrific anyway. No trip to the store needed 🙂
Ernestine
Can I substitute another liquor than the brandy?
Tricia Buice
Sure Ernestine, that will be fine. Or just leave it out altogether if you prefer.
Bill
What about rum?
Tricia Buice
I think rum sounds terrific Bill. Enjoy!
Brenda Valdez
Any chance of mixing myer lemon instead of the apple?? I’ve done apple, peach & apricot cobbler as well as jams in past so just looking for more to do with my bounty. Thanks, looking forward to your input 🙂
Tricia Buice
I think adding lemon juice is fine but you may want to increase the cornstarch. I would still add the apple as it helps thicken the juice due to the natural pectin. Enjoy!
Melissa
Made this for a social gathering with friends. It was a big hit! See pictures before and after it was baked! Thanks for bringing back the Plum Cobbler! We have now made this a must make for gatherings. The Hughes Family!
Tricia Buice
Thank you so much for trying our cobbler Melissa. I’m thrilled your guests enjoyed it. I hope all the Hughes family enjoys it for years to come!!!
Martha Middleton
Great recipe a nice way to use the Plums up
Tricia Buice
Thanks Martha!
Christy M Stewart
can I use bisquick to make the topping?
Tricia Buice
Hi Christy. I’m sure you can use a Bisquick biscuit topping for this filling with great success. However, I’m not sure you can replace the flour in this recipe with Bisquick and leave all other ingredients the same. Hope this helps!
Rita
On using a skillet the only one to use for baking a cobbler?
Tricia Buice
Hi Rita – you can use any kind of casserole dish you want. Place the casserole dish on a baking pan in the oven to ensure there’s no chance of overflow. Enjoy!
Silvia
It is delicious!! I just made my second one and my daughter love it. The crust it it the best part. Thank you for the recipe.
Tricia Buice
Thank you Silvia! So happy you enjoyed this cobbler. And I hope you were able to enjoy it warm with ice cream – so delicious!
Stephanie
Wish I’d come across this when I had buckets and buckets of plums this year! Any chance you’d recommend using canned plums? And if so what would I adjust? Thanks!
Tricia Buice
Hi Stephanie. I haven’t tried making this with canned plums but I bet it would work. You may not need to bake the cobbler as long so I would cut back on the time. Let us know if you try it and how it turns out for you!
Hiroko Hill
It was easy & yummy especially topping! I will keep this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Tricia Buice
Thank you Hiroko. So glad you enjoyed the cobbler 😉
Lynette
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?
Tricia Buice
Hi Lynette. Leftovers freeze well but this cobbler is best eaten slightly warm from the oven. The biscuit topping may not be as crisp and will soften over time. Enjoy!
Roxy Van Bockel
Is 8 cups of plums a misprint?
Tricia Buice
No misprint. Eight cups is correct.
Christina
It’s either a misprint or you have some giant plums! 8-10 plums for me is about 4 cups. Is there another type of giant plum out there that I’ve never seen? Haha
Tricia Buice
Hi Christina! No misprint here. All you have to do is an internet search for plum varieties and look at the images. There are some large plum varieties that are great to cook with. Also, you can see a few plums in our photo which are both pretty big Black Plums. Hope you get the chance to try this cobbler with any kind of plum, but you’ll need about 8 cups. Haha
Dawn shimmin
I added in some fresh mint leaves. Made it very yummy. Added a splash of dazzle to it. Everyone loved it!
Tricia Buice
Thanks Dawn! We appreciate the feedback and love your addition of mint 😁
Melanie Finch
I love this cobbler ! I used several plum varieties, including , pluots ! It is wonderful and I know that I will make it again very soon !
Robi
That was so delicious and so easy… Thank you!
Tricia Buice
Thank you Robi! So glad you enjoyed the cobbler and appreciate the feedback!
kanina
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!
Tricia Buice
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!
Amie
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
Tricia Buice
Thank you Amie! I hope you enjoyed this cobbler. I’m thrilled you tried our recipe for your first cobbled dessert 🙂 Bravo!!
Lala eomi
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.
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the feedback Lala. So glad you enjoyed this cobbler. I love the idea of adding cardamom so I’ll have to try that. Best wishes and thanks again!