Easy Apple Cobbler is made with fresh apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, and other staple kitchen ingredients for a favorite fall dessert recipe. We love the hint of cinnamon in the cake-like topping over tender, seasoned apples. Use a combination of apples that give the perfect blend of tart and sweet in every bite!

This delicious apple cobbler is a favorite fall cobbler at my house. My family loves peach cobbler and blueberry cobbler throughout the year. But, during the fall, apple cobbler, apple crisp, and apple pie are favorites.

How to Make Apple Cobbler Recipe

This easy apple cobbler recipe is made from scratch with a combination of tart and sweet apples topped with a pour-over batter that bakes into a cake-like topping.

Ingredients

Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.

For the Apple Cobbler Filling

For the apple cobbler, you’ll need the following ingredients.

• Apples – I use a blend of apples to make sure I include both tart and sweet apples. This gives the apple cobbler incredible flavor. If you prefer a sweeter cobbler, use all sweet apples. You can use your apples peeled or leave the peelings on the apples based on your personal preference.
• Lemon Juice – The lemon juice is used to coat the sliced apples to prevent them from turning brown as well as to flavor the cobbler.
• Brown Sugar – The brown sugar adds a hint of molasses flavor to the cobbler. You can use either light or dark brown sugar.
• Flour – A little all-purpose flour in the cobbler filling slightly thickens the juice from the apple slices and the other filling ingredients.
• Cinnamon – The ground cinnamon adds a warm, fall flavor to the cobbler.
• Butter – A little melted butter flavors the cobbler filling.
• Salt – The salt enhances and balances the flavor of the cobbler.

For the Apple Cobbler Topping

For my cake-like cobbler topping, you’ll use all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, and milk.

What Kind of Apples to Use for Apple Cobbler

I prefer to use a combination of tart and sweet apples in my apple cobbler. I use Granny Smith apples for the tartness, Honeycrisp apples for the bright sweetness, and then another mid-sweetness apple such as Fuji, Braeburn, or Rome. You can simply use two types of apples if you prefer or if you like an all-sweet apple cobbler, just use your favorite mid-range sweet apple or for a tart cobbler, use all Granny Smith.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Make the apple cobbler filling. Toss the apple slices with the lemon juice in a large mixing bowl. Add the remaining ingredients for the filling (brown sugar, flour, ground cinnamon, melted butter, and salt). Stir together with the apples to coat. Pour into a lightly buttered baking dish.

Make the cobbler topping batter. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, and milk. Pour the batter over the apple slices in the baking dish. Do not stir.

Bake and serve. Place into the preheated oven and bake until lightly golden brown on top, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for about 3 to 5 minutes before serving.

Recipe Variations

Gluten-Free Apple Cobbler. Use your favorite gluten-free flour for baking substitute.

Dairy-Free Apple Cobbler. Use your favorite dairy-free milk (such as oat milk) and dairy-free butter substitutes.

Lower Sugar Apple Cobbler. Replace the sugar in the recipe with your favorite sugar-free sugar substitute for baking.

Substitutions

Self-rising flour – Use 1 cup self-rising flour and omit the baking powder and salt called for in the cobbler topping batter.

Brown sugar – Use brown sugar in the cobbler topping batter and omit the granulated sugar.

Apple Pie Spice – Use apple pie spice in place of the ground cinnamon in the filling and topping.

Storage Tips

To store leftovers. Store covered in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days. Reheat and serve.

To make ahead. Bake, cool, and store covered in the refrigerator. Reheat and serve.

To freeze. Bake in a freezer-safe baking dish and cool completely. Wrap tightly in a freezer-safe wrap topped with foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, allow to thaw in the refrigerator. Reheat and serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here’s my Apple Cobbler Recipe. I hope you enjoy it as much as we always do!

Enjoy!
Robyn xo

The recipe was originally published in 2014. Updated September 2023 with new photographs and clearer instructions.