Peach Cobbler with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar

No rolling, no boiling fruit, no crimping crusts. Cobbler is so easy it’s enough to make you wonder why you ever bother with pie. This one is a summertime classic, with sweet and spiced peaches and a sugar cookie-inspired topping you’ll be obsessed with.

Here’s what I’ve learned after making this cobbler a million times: your peaches don’t need to be perfect. Ripe, even slightly overripe, is good. One more thing: softened butter is key for the topping, but if you forgot to take it out (been there), just cut it into small pieces and it’ll cream up just fine. 

what You’ll Need

Every ingredient matters here so I don’t recommend a lot of substitutions. But tweaking the spices is just fine.

As written, this recipe is enough for a family and fits just right in a pie plate or quiche dish. For a crowd, I’d recommend doubling it and baking in a 13×9 pan. You can use the 2x button in the recipe card at the bottom of the post and it will do the math for you.

For the Filling

• 9-10 sliced peaches (no need to peel)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch – this keeps your cobbler from being soupy
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

For the Topping

• ½ cup unsalted softened butter
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch salt
• coarse sugar to sprinkle on top (optional) this adds a nice crunch, but regular sugar works too

How to Make

If you can cut up a piece of fruit and make a basic cookie dough (or even if you can’t), you ca make this. Let’s do it.

Getting Started

Preheat your oven to 375°F and line a spare baking sheet with foil. Trust me on the foil-lined sheet thing. This cobbler WILL bubble over, and you don’t want to be scraping burnt peach juice off your oven bottom later.

Prep the Peach Filling

Slice up your peaches. I leave the skins on because life’s too short for peeling peaches, and honestly, the skins add a nice texture.

Toss them in a bowl with both sugars, cinnamon, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Give it all a good stir until the peaches are coated. The mixture will look a little dry at first, but that’s exactly what we want.

The Secret Step: Precooking

Here’s where I do something a little different…dump that peach mixture into your baking dish, cover it TIGHT with foil, and bake it for 20 minutes. This is my weird trick that makes all the difference.

The peaches release their juices, the cornstarch does its thickening magic, and you won’t end up with a watery mess later. While it’s baking, you can make your topping.

Making the Sugar Cookie Topping

Cream your softened butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy. This takes about 3-4 minutes with a hand mixer.

Beat in your egg and vanilla, then gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix just until combined. Don’t overthink it….this isn’t finicky pastry work.

Assemble and bake

When your timer goes off, pull out the peach filling and toss that foil. The peaches should be bubbling and smell amazing.

Now comes the fun part! Drop spoonfuls of that cookie dough topping all over the peaches. Don’t worry about making it perfect or covering every inch. Those gaps let the peachy goodness bubble up through.

Back in the oven it goes, uncovered this time, for 30-40 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling around the edges. If you want that extra crunch, sprinkle some coarse sugar on top during the last few minutes of baking.

Cool Down (If You Can Wait)

Let it cool for about 10 minutes before diving in. I know it’s torture, but the filling needs a minute to set up so you don’t end up with peach soup on your plate. Though honestly, even peach soup is pretty delicious with vanilla ice cream.

Storage Instructions

Once it’s cool, cover it tight with plastic wrap or pop it in an airtight container. It’ll keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.

For single servings, reheating in the microwave works fine: just 30-45 seconds should do it. But if you want to get that topping crispy again (and you DO), pop the whole dish in a 350°F oven for 10-15 minutes until it’s warmed through.

I don’t recommend freezing this and have never tried. Live a little. Eat it all!

Questions and Troubleshooting

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