Combining summer’s best fruit under a layer of golden drop biscuits, this Strawberry Peach Cobbler is a classic dessert that comes together in about an hour.
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Everyday Dorie, this drop-biscuit cobbler is the kind of recipe that comes together with a bowl and fork. It calls for ingredients you probably have sitting in your fridge, and it’s a great excuse to use up all those peaches ripening on your counter, and the strawberries you brought home from the market.
Of course, you can use whatever fruit you have on hand, be it blueberries, plums, or apricots. I just happen to think peaches and strawberries are a match made in heaven. Their profiles really complement each other, with strawberries providing brightness and acidity and peaches providing body and juiciness.
The topping is a wet drop-biscuit batter, a matter of mixing dry and wet ingredients together and mixing just until they form a shaggy dough. As the filling bakes, it’ll become jammy and fill your kitchen with the aroma of summer.
The result is a rustic cobbler that’s best served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of freshly whipped cream. It doesn’t get any better than this!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Flour: provides structure and starch, meaning the gluten-forming proteins (gliadin and glutenin) are hydrated and mixed, forming a gluten network that traps gases and gives the biscuit enough structure to hold together, while the starch gelatinizes, setting the crumb.
Baking powder: our leavening, when hydrated and heated, it releases carbon dioxide gas, expanding in the dough, creating a lighter, more tender biscuit rather than a dense layer of dough.
Baking soda: here primarily to neutralize the acids in the buttermilk and increase browning.
Buttermilk: provides the lactic acid that activates baking soda. It also tenderizes the biscuit, as acid weakens gluten formation by interfering with protein interactions, producing a softer crumb. Its liquid hydrates the flour proteins and starch so gluten is developed.
Heavy Cream: adds fat and richness, which coats the flour while limiting gluten development – essential to keeping the biscuit delicate and tender! The milk proteins also participate in Maillard reactions during baking, giving your topping that beautiful golden brown.
Sugar: more than adding sweetness, sugar is a tenderizer. It competes with flour proteins and starch for water, reducing gluten development and slowing starch setting. It also helps in caramelization and the Maillard reaction, contributing color and flavor.
Salt: a flavor enhancer, salt enhances our perception of sweetness and other flavors. It also tightens gluten networks by helping proteins bond, improving structure without making the biscuit tough when used in small amounts.
Why use both cream and buttermilk?
They both help hydrate the dough, do different jobs:
- Buttermilk = acidity + tenderness + leavening activation
- Cream = fat + richness + softer crumb
Together they create a biscuit topping that stays tender from fat and acid, browns beautifully, and has enough structure to sit on top of bubbling fruit.
How to Make Strawberry Peach Cobbler
Pit and slice the peaches, then add them to your pie dish along with your hulled and halved strawberries to make sure the fruit fits comfortably. Add the sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch directly to the dish and toss everything together until the fruit is evenly coated. This way, you don’t have to dirty another bowl.
Set the filling aside while you prepare the topping. Mix the dry ingredients together in one bowl, then combine the cream and buttermilk in a measuring cup. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients just until combined – the less you mix, the more tender the biscuits will be. Drop spoonfuls of the batter over the fruit, then bake until the filling is bubbling and jammy and the biscuit topping is golden brown.
Tips for Success
- Use ripe but firm peaches. Very ripe peaches will give the best flavor, but if they’re too soft, they can release too much water and make the filling loose. You want peaches that yield slightly when pressed but still hold their shape when sliced.
- Taste your fruit before adding sugar. Adjust the sugar based on the fruit itself rather than blindly following the amount!
- Let the fruit sit while you make the topping. The sugar will draw out some of the juices from the fruit through osmosis, which helps create the sauce.
- Use cold cream and buttermilk. Cold butterfat in cream helps keep the dough tender, and the water in the dairy turns to steam in the oven, helping the biscuits rise
- Let it rest before serving. The filling will continue to thicken as it cools slightly. Cutting into it immediately can make the juices run before the starch has fully set.
Variations and Swaps
- Swap the fruit:
- Peaches + blueberries
- Peaches + raspberries
- Plums + blackberries
- Swap the dairy:
- Try all buttermilk for a tangier, leaner biscuit.
- Or all cream for a richer, more tender biscuit (but without the acidity of the buttermilk, skip the baking soda)
- Sour cream or greek yogurt: instead of buttermilk as they provide acidity and moisture.
- For frozen fruit:
- Use it straight from frozen rather than thawing. Thawed frozen fruit releases a lot of water – you may need a little extra cornstarch and a longer bake time.
If you make this Strawberry Peach Cobbler please let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.
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Strawberry Peach Cobbler
Ingredients
Filling:
- 3 lb (1.5 kg) fresh peaches, pitted and sliced
- ½ lb (225g) strawberries, hulled and halved
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ½ lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
Topping:
- 1½ cups (180g) all-purpose flour
- 4 tbsp (50g) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¾ cup (180 ml) cold heavy cream
- ½ cup (120 ml) cold buttermilk
For Finishing:
- Heavy cream, for brushing
- Demerara or granulated sugar, for sprinkling
- Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, optional, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Prepare the filling: Slice the peaches and hull and halve the strawberries. Place the sliced fruit in a 9-inch pie dish (or combine it in a large bowl and transfer it to the pie dish). Add the sugar, lemon juice, and cornstarch. Toss until evenly coated. Set aside.
- Make the topping: Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the heavy cream and buttermilk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring with a fork just until a shaggy dough forms and no pockets of dry flour remain.
- Drop heaping tablespoons of batter over the fruit, leaving a little space between each mound. Brush the tops with heavy cream and sprinkle generously with demerara or granulated sugar.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling around the edges and between the biscuits.
- Let cool for at least 15 minutes. Serve with ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream.
Great Read –
Stay Blessed – Mel
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