Skillet Apple Cobbler with a Gooey, Crispy, Crumbly, Brown Sugar Cookie Topping

Saucy apples coated with cinnamon, cloves, and brown sugar and baked under a sugar cookie topping that’s a delicious combination of chewy, crispy, crumbly, and gooey.

I can think of few things more delicious than warm apple cobbler, freshly baked and still warm, served all by itself or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But, it’s possibly even better the next day, eaten straight out of the pan for breakfast, preferably in your bathrobe, a hot mug of coffee close at hand.

This Apple Cobbler is basically the same recipe as my all-time favorite Peach Cobbler except, of course, there are apples instead of peaches. And, if you think that’s cheating a little bit, get ready because it’s just a matter of time before I translate this into a raspberry or blackberry cobbler as well. It’s the chewy sugar cookie topping. I just can’t get enough.

There are basically two kinds of cobbler in the world – the kind with a biscuit topping and the kind with a cookie-like topping. This is the cookie covered variety. It’s super saucy, but not overly sweet. And, the topping is this wonderful combination of textures – crisp and crumbly on top and chewy in the middle.

It’s the kind of thing that you scoop into a bowl and eat with a spoon on those days when you just KNOW that saucy apples covered in butter and brown sugar is the kind of self care you need RIGHT NOW.

Sometimes self-care means heading to the gym. Sometimes it means eating a salad. And, sometimes it means apple cobbler. Everything in moderation, including moderation.

What you need to know about Baking Apple Cobbler in a Cast Iron Pan

Cast iron pans are wonderful for saucy desserts that need to bake at a relatively low temperature because cast iron is a great conductor of heat. This helps ensure that your cobbler will bake evenly regardless of whether or not you have any hot spots in your oven (which you most certainly do).

However, if you’re going to bake apple cobbler in a cast iron pan, it’s super important to make sure the pan is well seasoned. In new, unseasoned cast iron pans, the acid in the lemon juice and apples can set off a reaction that causes the cobbler to take on a slight metallic flavor. Not exactly what we’re going for here.

If you’ve been using your cast iron pan for a while and are pretty good at taking care of it, it will work beautifully for this recipe.

If you’re unsure about how to season a cast iron pan, it’s quite simple:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Scrub the skillet in warm, soapy water and dry it with a cloth.
Pour a tablespoon or two of vegetable oil into the skillet and spread it around, or rub the inside of the pan with vegetable shortening to coat. Do the same thing on the outside of the pan so that the entire pan is coated in a thin layer of oil or shortening.
Place the skillet upside down in the center of your oven, directly on the oven rack. Place a sheet of aluminum foil below the rack to catch any drips. Let the pan bake for an hour, then turn off the heat and let the pan sit in there until completely cool.

What you need to know about baking apple cobbler in a baking dish.

While I usually use a cast iron pan to make this cobbler, a square or rectangle baking dish works just as well.

My two favorite baking dishes of all time are both Le Creuset – the Le Creuset White Stoneware Square Baking Dish and White Rectangle Stoneware Baking Dish. I love stoneware for baking because it retains heat well and conducts heat more evenly than aluminum or glass dishes.

The Le Creuset brand is on the pricy side, but the dishes are so well made and durable that I feel they are worth it. Also, something that’s very important to me – the enamel finish is extremely easy to clean.

If you use a 9-inch square baking dish for this recipe, reduce the amount of apples to 2 1/2 lbs and the cornstarch to 1 tbsp. Keep all the other ingredients the same. If using a 9×13 rectangle baking dish, follow the recipe as written, no changes necissary.

What kind of apples are best for apple cobbler?

My favorite kind of apples to use in apple pie are Granny Smith or Macintosh because they are tart enough to keep the pie from getting overly sweet and hold their shape even after being baked for over an hour.

However, in cobbler, I really prefer using sweet apples like Honey Crisp or Pink Lady apples. There are a couple of reasons for this. The filling for this cobbler calls for a decent amount of lemon juice. When combined with a bit of cornstarch and sugar, the lemon juice creates a deliciously thick syrup that is appropriately gooey and scoopable.

Because the lemon juice adds plenty of tartness, I don’t feel that the apples need to. Using sweet apples means you don’t need to use a lot of sugar to achieve a lovely balance of tart and sweet.

The other difference here from apple pie is that apple cobbler is meant to be eaten with a bowl and a spoon. With a pie, you want to be able to lift it out in slices, which means the apples need to hold their shape. But, cobbler is meant to be scooped out. If the apples get soft while baking, it only contributes to the comforting saucy nature of the dish.

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Apple Cobbler with Gooey Brown Sugar Cookie Crumble

Author: Rebecca Blackwell
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 60 min
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Yield: 6-8 servings

Print Recipe

Description

Saucy apples coated with cinnamon, cloves, and brown sugar and baked under a sugar cookie topping that’s a delicious combination of chewy, crispy, crumbly, and gooey.

Ingredients

For the Apple Cobbler Filling:

4 tbsp (1/4 cup) of freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 1/2 lbs sweet apples (recommended varieties: honey crisp, ambrosia, jazz, sweet tango, or pink lady)
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
1/2 tsp table salt (1 tsp kosher salt)
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves

For the brown sugar cookie topping:

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp table salt (1 1/4 tsp kosher salt)
10 tbsp butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Make the Apple Cobbler Filling:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a well seasoned 12-inch cast iron skillet with a generous layer of butter. You can also use a square or rectangle baking dish – see recipe notes.
Put the lemon juice and zest into a large bowl.
Slice the apples into quarters, cut out the core, and slice off the peel. Cut each quarter into 3 slices and add to the bowl with the lemon juice. Stir the apples in the lemon juice to coat, which will keep them from browning.
Add the rest of the filling ingredients to the bowl with the apples and toss gently to mix. Pour the filing into the skillet or baking dish, smoothing it out into an even layer, and bake for 15 minutes. While it bakes, prepare the topping.

Make the Apple Cobbler Topping:

Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to a bowl and stir to mix. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir with a spoon or rubber spatula, or your fingers, just until all the dry ingredients are moistened and the mixture comes together into a soft dough. Do not over mix.
Remove the pan with the apple filling from the oven. Use your fingers to crumble the topping over the apples into an even layer. Put the pan back in the oven and bake for an additional 40 – 45 minutes, until the apple filling is bubbling up all around the edges of the pan and the topping is golden brown and set.
Remove from the oven and let cool for about 15 minutes before scooping into bowls and serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.

Notes

If you’re using a cast iron skillet, it’s important that it’s well seasoned. If the pan is not well-seasoned, the acid in the apples and lemon juice can react with the cast iron, giving the cobbler a slight metallic taste. But, well-seasoned pans can handle acidic foods with impunity.
Instead of a cast iron skillet, you can bake this apple cobbler in a 9×13 rectangle or 9-inch square baking dish. If using a 9×13 rectangle baking dish, follow the recipe as written. If using a 9-inch square baking dish, reduce the amount of apples to 2 1/2 lbs and the cornstarch to 1 tbsp. Keep all the other ingredients the same.

Keywords: cobbler, apple cobbler, easy dessert, apple dessert, easy recipe, apples, winter recipe, fall recipe