Easy Buttermilk Peach Cobbler

By Melissa Clark

Updated August 15, 2024

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
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Total Time
70 to 80 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
60 to 70 minutes
Rating
5(2,215)
Comments
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This easy peach cobbler is made by layering ripe, juicy fruit over batter rather than nestling it under biscuits or pie dough, giving it a tender, cakelike texture. Browning the butter before merging it with the batter adds nutty, caramelized notes, while buttermilk gives it a lovely tang. Fresh summer peaches (or other stone fruit like nectarines, apricots and plums) are ideal here, but frozen fruit also works well. Serve this warm or at room temperature, preferably on the same day as baking.

Featured in: Peach Cobbler, 2 Ways: Spectacularly Simple and Simply Spectacular

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

  • 2 pounds fresh peaches, pitted and sliced (peeling is optional), or 6 cups frozen peach slices

  • ½ cup/110 grams packed dark brown sugar

  • 2 to 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

  • ½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter

  • 1 ½ cups/187 grams all-purpose flour

  • 1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar, more for sprinkling

  • 1 tablespoon baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

  • 1 ½ cups/355 milliliters buttermilk

  • ½ to 1 teaspoon flavoring, such as freshly grated nutmeg, citrus zest, ground cinnamon, ginger or vanilla, or ¼ teaspoon almond extract

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 to 8 servings)

70 grams carbs; 32 milligrams cholesterol; 400 calories; 4 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 12 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 501 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 50 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large (10- to 12-inch) well-seasoned cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium heat, combine the peaches, brown sugar and lemon juice. Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the sugar melts and the liquid thickens slightly, 2 to 4 minutes. Pour peaches and liquid into a bowl and set aside. Taste a peach slice; if it seems flat, add another squeeze or two of lemon until bright and lively.

  2. Step 2

    Using the same pan (you don’t need to wipe it out), melt the butter over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally, and let it cook until it smells very nutty, turns golden brown and flecks of dark amber appear, 2 to 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and reserve the brown butter in the pan.

  3. Step 3

    In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour in buttermilk and any flavorings you like, and mix just until combined.

  4. Step 4

    Scrape the batter on top of the brown butter in the pan, but don’t mix it in. The butter will rise and cover some of the batter at the pan’s edges, and this is good. Scatter the peach slices and their juices on top of the batter without stirring. Sprinkle with a little more sugar if you like, for crunch.

  5. Step 5

    Bake until the cobbler is golden brown on top, 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
2,215 user ratings
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Comments

Baker Lee

Brown the butter after making the batter because the butter will continue to cook and burn after you’ve taken it off the heat. This way you can pour the batter into the browned butter as soon as the butter reaches the correct level of brown ness.

Ceilidth

Ripe peaches need almost no sugar, brown or white. A cup and a half of sugar destroys the peach flavor. A biscuit based cobbler soaks up the juice of the ripe peaches and is sweet enough without more than a tablespoon or two of sugar in the batter.

Mary

I like my cobbler made this way also with melted butter first, then the batter, and then the fruit mixture, especially peaches. This year, I’ve added a tsp of bourbon (I live in KY, lol) or Amaretto to the simmered peach mixture. It gives a very subtle smoky enhancement to the peaches.

Annie

Truly could cry with how good this was. No notes!

Enigma

This was delicious but beware - I used an 11" skillet and the peach juice went over the sides and left a burning lake in the oven. Will also use less sugar next time.

Eric

Good, overall. Great flavor profile with some additions. I added 1/4 t of nutmeg 1/8 t of cardamom, 1/4 t of almond extract, and ended up using the juice of half a meyer lemon.. I could have bumped up the spices a little more. The cake portion of it had chewy consistency, like some mentioned, kind of like mochi, that was OK, but not quite what I might have liked. I did use 1-for-1 gluten free flour, though. Being ready to add the batter as some of the commenters suggested was a great tip to prevent the butter from going too far and burning with the heat in the cast iron skillet. I had the batter ready except for the addition of the buttermilk and almond extract. As soon as I added the measured buttermilk it started to foam, so I’m glad I didn’t add it too soon before pouring it into the butter. Took an hour to get golden brown for me. The carmelized flavors were yummy.

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