Blackberry cobbler is the perfect recipe for any hot summer day. Perfectly sweet and tart, with a golden biscuit topping, it’s the ultimate easy dessert. Top with a frosty scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and you’ll be in 7th heaven!
Craving more delicious easy desserts? You simply have to try my Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp, Sour Cream Lemon Pie, or Raspberry Fluff!
Blackberry Cobbler
As we head into summer, so many wonderful types of produce are at their peak, with blackberries being among them. Plump, juicy, and the perfect mixture of sweet and tart, these berries are amazing on their own (or whipped up into a blackberry mojito!), but truly are at their best when baked into a homemade blackberry cobbler.
CLASSIC, OLD-FASHIONED DESSERT
What exactly is blackberry cobbler? Everyone has their own idea of what a cobbler is. Traditionally speaking though, cobbler is a baked fruit dish that’s topped with a biscuit-like top. When baked, the biscuits create a “cobbled” look, similar to a cobblestone street.
Some versions can be have a cake-like topping, though I prefer to stick with the traditional method for this blackberry cobbler recipe.
HOW TO MAKE BLACKBERRY COBBLER
You won’t believe how easy it is to make such an iconic dessert!
- Combine berries, cornstarch, sugar & a bit of water. Simmer a few minutes until thickened.
- Combine topping ingredients and drop over blackberry mixture.
- Bake and enjoy!
Crazy easy right? Serve warm and top with vanilla bean ice cream (or go for my FAVE, bourbon vanilla no churn ice cream!).
WHAT ABOUT LEFTOVERS?
Most of the time we don’t have ANY leftovers and the dish is scraped clean, but in case you do, here are the best ways to store them.
REFRIGERATOR:
- This cobbler keeps for a few days, and is best store in the fridge. Warm it in the oven/microwave before serving.
FREEZER:
- Blackberry cobbler can be frozen, with some changes. Freezing a whole, assembled cobbler (baked or unbaked) isn’t recommended, as the topping will be soggy and not bake properly.
TO FREEZE –
- Mix together the filling, place in your baking dish, cover and freeze for up to 2-3 months.
- When you’re ready to bake the cobbler, bake the filling first for 35 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot and bubbling.
- Mix together your biscuit topping, add it to the top, and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes.
This method will yield a cobbler that tastes as close as you can get to a freshly baked cobbler!
ALTERNATIVE METHOD
If you have a little more time, prefer a thicker cobbler, or would rather not to turn on your stovetop, there’s another way you can make this blackberry cobbler.
- Combine blackberries, sugar, 1 Tbsp of cornstarch and cinnamon and stir well in baking dish. Let sit for 15-20 minutes, so they can soften a little and produce a little bit of a syrupy liquid on the bottom of the dish.
- Make biscuits as specified and bake as directed.
This easy blackberry cobbler dessert is just begging to be served at all of your summer gatherings, and I promise you, you won’t regret making it!
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Ingredients
COBBLER
- 24 oz fresh blackberries
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (optional but recommended)
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 3/4 cup water
TOPPING
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup cold butter, grated or finely cubed
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup cold buttermilk
Instructions
- Grease an 8 inch square baking dish.
- In a large saucepan, combine the blackberries, sugar, and cinnamon. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil.
- Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into fruit mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2-5 minutes or until thickened.
- Pour into prepared baking dish.
- For topping, in a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry blender or two forks until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Stir in buttermilk just until moistened. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto hot berry mixture.
- Bake, uncovered, at 350F for 30-35 minutes or until filling is bubbly and topping is golden brown. Serve warm, with whipped topping or ice cream if desired.
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Chef Tips
- Buttermilk amount will vary from individual to individual. You want the dough to be moist enough to hold together when pinched between a few fingers, but not moist enough that it's wet.
- For a thicker cobbler, combine blackberries, sugar, 1 Tbsp of cornstarch and cinnamon and stir well in baking dish. Let sit for 15-20 minutes, so they can soften a little and produce a little bit of a syrupy liquid on the bottom of the dish. Add topping and bake as directed.
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Originally posted on Spend with Pennies, where I contribute recipes.
Rich Johnson says
A question: if you opt in for the thicker cobbler as mentioned in the chef tips, do you then bring that to a boil as per the instructions of step #2?
The Chunky Chef says
Nope, you just add the topping and bake as directed, as indicated 🙂
Crystal says
We all loved this, I have made it twice in 2 weeks. thank you!
Elaine says
If you are adjusting the recipe from 8 to 4 servings, does the pan size change? Cook timing?
Can’t wait to try it.
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested halving this recipe, so I can’t speak to the baking time. If you have a baking pan smaller than an 8×8, then you could use that, or use the 8×8 and it just won’t fill it up.
Terri O’Neal says
I think you may just be my spirit animal!
Susan says
Perfect cobbler every time! Equally good with blueberries. Thanks for a really great recipe!
Gia says
Mine was 1/2 fresh blackberry, 1/2 frozen blueberry. I added vanilla, lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice to the berries. Also sprinkled little muscovado sugar on top of the dough just before baking. Delicious.
Mark Hulst says
Made this last night. I believe it’s the best Blackberry Cobbler I’ve ever had. Everyone loved it. I did end up using frozen blackberries as we are outside the season, still worked out fantastic.
Matthew says
Excellent crust and perfect filling consistency. This is my favorite cobbler recipe.
mary lee says
We use agave nectar as our sweetener because of diabetics in the family. How can I introduce it and what measurement should I use.?
The Chunky Chef says
I couldn’t say, as I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if that would work. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out!
annie says
Made this this summer and it was amazing. I’m going to make it for thanksgiving and I want to freeze the berries ahead of time, one of your make ahead options. Question though… You state to make the berries in the oven but I am unsure if they need to be thawed first?
annie says
Bake, not make!
The Chunky Chef says
You can bake the berry mixture from frozen 🙂
Liz says
Husband and I loved the cobbler! Used half blackberries and half blueberries. Thicked texture for the berries was just right. Cobbler topping was awesome. Will be using this recipe again. How about an apple cobbler recipe? We have liked every recipe I have made from your blog.
Joanne says
The blackberries were good. The dough on top was not. Where is the oatmeal crisp that goes with the blackberries so we’ll?
The Chunky Chef says
The oatmeal crisp part isn’t typically in a cobbler, but rather in a “crisp” (like apple crisp, etc), which is another recipe.
Annie says
Not sure why my first comment is not showing up…. Making this for a dinner party this weekend. Will it be party perfect if I make the day before and heat up and reheat in the oven day of? Also, I have a recipe for cold spiked hard sauce that I put on blackberry dumplings. Would that go well with this of should I stick with ice cream ? Thank you! Also, is there a sub for buttermilk??
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Annie 🙂 This site has comment moderation on, to greatly reduce the enormous amount of spam comments bots leave, so that’s why your other comments didn’t show up. Now that you have an approved comment, you should be able to comment without moderation 🙂 I haven’t tested making this cobbler ahead of time, so I can’t say how well it would work. Without tasting the sauce, I can’t say how it would taste with the cobbler, but if you love it with other blackberry desserts, then it would likely be delicious! If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own by mixing a couple teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar with whole milk and let it sit about 10 minutes. It will look a bit curdled, but that’s what you’re looking for. Stir and use as directed 🙂
annie says
Great. Thank you. I will just buy some buttermilk! I will make the day before and reheat in the oven and cross my fingers! I do that on Thanksgiving with my crumble top apple pie and its fine. If I remember I’ll update!
annie says
Made this exactly as written on a Thursday. Let it cool completely and put it in the fridge. Took it out on Saturday at around 1.pm to come to room temp. Put in the oven at 325 for about a half hour at 8 pm. Served to my guests with the choice of vanilla ice cream or whisky spiked hard sauce. Both options were raved about. The topping was crunchy, not soggy at all. This was a superb desert. Berries were sweet but not too sweet. Topping was not too salty and not very sweet but that was perfect due to the sweetness of the berries and especially the hard sauce if applied (recommended!) Coming back tonight to scour your site for my next favorite recipes!!!
TL Johnston says
The fruit was good but the Cobbler topping was a little too salty for me…I prefer a sweeter cobbler topping.
Brooks L. Clark says
Getting ready to make this for dessert tonight. I am planning on doing the thicker version and want to make sure that i only use 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and no water, correct,
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, that’s correct 🙂
Katie O'Brien says
Hello! And skip cooking the topping too for the thicker version? Thank you!
The Chunky Chef says
Nope, go ahead and add the topping and bake as directed 🙂
Barbara says
This is a winner. So good and so easy to make. Was only out of the oven about 10 mins when two of our grandkids came over. Do I even need to finish the sentence? Hubby and I barely got a serving.
Danny Roman says
Absolutely AMAZING
Haley says
Got so many compliments on this!
Jane says
Absolutely perfect cobbler. Couldn’t be happier with this recipe. Am printing it to use with other luscious summer fruits. Thank you for sharing !
R.B.O. says
Tasty!, perfectly sweet!! Classic dessert, just like Grandma used to make.