Easy Old Fashioned Blueberry Cobbler

This is one of those easy dessert recipes that checks both the quick and tasty boxes, with a golden brown topping and a layer of sweet fruit filling. It comes together quickly and is ready in under an hour! Serve it plain, at room temperature, or warm with a scoop of ice cream. A delicious cobbler that can be made with fresh blueberries or frozen ones, so it's a year-round recipe.

After falling in love with our popular peach cobbler recipe a few years ago, I started testing this iconic dessert idea with different flavors. The results were wonderful and very different.

It's a match made in heaven with summer berries and most fresh fruit in season, and this easy blueberry cobbler recipe is one that I make often. It's definitely in the easy recipes category.

About this recipe

• Fresh or frozen: it can use both types of blueberries, so take advantage of blueberry season when it hits, but also know that you can make it year-round with frozen berries.
• Easy to make: it comes together fast and can be made a day or two ahead. if you use blueberry pie filling it's even quicker.
• Dessert for a crowd: this is a great recipe for gatherings, picnics, barbecues, and other informal celebrations that involve several hungry mouths. Or even a large crowd.

Types of cobblers

A cobbler has a fruit layer and a starchy topping. The fruit bakes and releases juices as the biscuit topping is baked, creating a syrupy filling and a sweet, tender upper crust. A fantastic combination if you ask me.

• With traditional biscuits: this is how my grandmother made it. She simply put her favorite biscuit (or buttermilk scones recipe sometimes) on top.
• With drop biscuits: the type we're using for this recipe today is a wetter, spoonable dough that can also be spread, as we do in our super popular Pear Cobbler.
• With pie crust: this is a great way to use leftover homemade pie crust or flavored, as shown in the Cinnamon Plum Cobbler.

Ingredients

They're not many and they're everyday staples. Some comments about a few of them:

• Blueberries: I always use fresh blueberries when available, but I've also made this recipe with frozen ones. They both work very well.
• Lemon: both lemon juice and lemon zest are used to add more flavor.
• Sugar: I use granulated or light brown sugar sometimes.
• Milk: whole milk is what I normally use, and buttermilk and reduced fat can also be used.
• Butter: I recommend unsalted butter for this recipe.
• Flour: I use all-purpose flour or cake flour with good results in both cases.
• Salt: I like to use kosher salt when baking. It enhances the rest of the flavors.
• Baking powder: it helps the batter grow. Together with the flour and the salt, it's part of what we call the dry ingredients.

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Easy steps

Putting this recipe together is quick, easy, and you can be eating it an hour after you put it in the oven. You need a large bowl or two, a spoon, a spatula, a grater, and a dish to bake it in. No special gadgets, equipment, or beating is required.

The topping

We need to make a loose biscuit dough.

• Incorporating the butter: it should be cold and in pieces, so keep it in the refrigerator until ready to use. You have to integrate it with the flour mixture until it resembles a coarse meal and the butter is the size of peas. You can do that with your hands (my choice since it's a small amount) or a pastry blender.
• Food processor: for this first part of mixing the dry ingredients with the butter you can use a food processor with a steel blade. I recommend it when making large amounts, when you want to make it ahead and refrigerate it, or freeze it.
• Adding the liquid: in this case, milk. It also needs to be cold, so keep it in the refrigerator until ready to use. Add half of it first, mix a little, and then add the rest.

Blueberry mixture

• Adding flavorings: we use lemon zest and fresh lemon juice for the fruit layer because it pairs so well with blueberries. But you can also add some vanilla extract or a pinch of cinnamon.
• Dry ingredients: the blueberries are also mixed with part of the sugar and some cornstarch, which will help make that wonderful syrup when it bakes.

Assembling & baking

• Simply spoon mounds of the biscuit topping on top of the fruit layer.
• Leave some space between them so the fruit can bubble up and the dough has space to fully bake.
• A preheated oven is an important step, make sure you turn it on before you start assembling the dessert.
• Bake as directed in the recipe, until the top is golden and the juicy blueberries are bubbling. Check that the biscuit is fully baked before removing it from the oven.

My top tips

• Organization: always read the recipe first and make sure you have all the ingredients, at the right temperatures, and also the rest of the equipment and space to make it. This will make the process so much easier!
• Baking time: keep in mind that all ovens and pans are different, even if they look the same or very similar. The baking time in my recipes is as accurate as it can be, but it might take you more or less time. You can use a thermometer that is placed inside the oven (like the OXO oven thermometer) to check that your oven is at the right temperature. I recommend you keep track of how your oven works and what tiny details you might need to adjust. 
• Biscuit topping: this recipe is vintage and the top crust is made by rubbing the cold butter pieces with flour and sugar. As an alternative, you can also use melted butter for easier mixing, adding it barely warm together with the milk, as part of the wet ingredients. Make sure you leave space between the mounds. This will help the biscuit bake all the way through and the blueberry filling to bubble freely as it bakes.
• Checking for doneness: it's important to make sure the biscuit is fully baked. So, when the time is up, lift it carefully here and there with a fork and check that it's not still wet below the surface. If it is you should see strings of uncooked dough, similar to melty cheese.
• Flavorings: I'm very partial to blueberries and lemon (Lemon Blueberry Crumb Cake anyone?) but they are also wonderful with orange, tangerine, or ground cinnamon. So let your palate decide.
• Serving: cobblers are served directly in the dish they were baked in, so make sure you use one you like to take to the table. A dollop of whipped cream or scoop of vanilla ice cream over a warm serving of this homemade blueberry cobbler recipe might be the perfect summer dessert. At least in my house.
• Make ahead: you can make it a day ahead and keep it in the refrigerator, covered. Warm in a 350° oven before eating. This dessert can be frozen after it's baked. Also, blueberries can be kept year-round in the freezer and the topping comes together in ten minutes. So it's very easy to put together.
• Crunchier topping: you can sprinkle an extra tablespoon of sugar on top of the dough before it goes into the oven to create an even crisper layer.
• Variation: blueberries and lemon is a popular flavor combination, but you can also use orange, tangerine, add some ground cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Or try it with different fruits, such as blackberries or pitted cherries.

Frequently asked questions

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Let me know in the comments below if you made this recipe and loved it and if you had issues so we can troubleshoot together. I love to hear what you think, always. Thanks for being here. It's much appreciated.
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