Facebook | Pinterest | Instagram I’m not as bad as my sister-in-law Reesy though. One time her roommate commented that they seemed to have lost many of their drinking glasses. Reesy went upstairs and realized she had FIFTEEN empty glasses scattered throughout her bedroom. Every day after work she would get a glass of water from the kitchen and take it up to her bedroom with her, always forgetting to bring it back downstairs. I’m sure none of you have this problem though. I’m sure you have some fancy-pants insulated water bottle that never leaves your side. It is outfitted in enough metal and tech that it could be sent to outer space. If you drop it on your foot, your toe will likely need to be amputated. Or at least your kids will learn all the swear words you’ve been keeping from them. What is it with our society’s obsession with hydration, anyway? Our elementary school is always sending out reminders about making sure no one forgets to bring their own personal water bottle. I remember when I was a kid, I would drink from the fountain at recess. Maybe. I mean, if I was thirsty. I might conceivably go a whole school day without a single gulp of water. WHAT? This is practically child negligence! My son has a friend who carries not one, but two water bottles to school every day. I thought he just got REALLY thirsty. I asked his mom about it, and she told me that he actually brings them because when he has a water bottle in each pouch on the sides of his backpack, he feels like he’s wearing a jet pack. I can’t argue with this level of dedication. Live your dreams, kid, rocket on. I feel like maybe I should try the jet-pack-water-bottle approach to life. If you can’t beat em, join em. “I see you have a water bottle, there. YEAH, WELL I GOT TWO.” There is really no wrong way to apple, but this one is special. I’m soooo excited to share today’s recipe with you guys! I posted my Peach Cobbler recipe last year and it has shot up to become one of my top 5 visited recipes of all time, which is insane. Ya’ll love your cobbler, apparently. I knew I wanted to create an apple version, so I made an Apple Cobbler baby from the Peach Cobbler and my favorite Apple Pie, which is also a reader favorite. I mean how can we go wrong with this mash up? But wait, Karen. You already have an Apple Crisp on your site, the one with a ridiculous amount of streusel. Aren’t cobbler and crisp, like, the same thing?? Aw heck naw. Are you ready for an edumacation? LET’S DO THIS This recipe is my favorite (ever, ever) because we are cooking the apple filling before adding the topping. Yes yes, I know this is a pain, it’s so much easier to just throw those raw apples in the oven! But I researched this extensively for my Apple Pie recipe, and have found that I much prefer pre-cooked apples in my desserts. (Apples have so much water. We need to cook some of it off. Lose the liquid; keep the flavor.) Also, I don’t want half baked apples, which is really easy to do when you are throwing raw apples in the oven. Cooking ahead of time is the best way! More details below! But first: Apple cobbler, on the other hand, has no streusel. Instead the apples are topped with a shaggy biscuit dough, sweet as cake, that puffs up and forms this crisp-on-the-edge, tender-in-the-center biscuit-y cake of deliciousness, with a caramel-y layer of apples on the bottom. It’s called a “cobbler” because the top looks cobbled, meaning rough, thrown together quickly, or patchy. (You say cobbled, I say gorgeous.) Okay, whew! Now that we are clear on all our apple dessert definitions! Let’s get on with making Apple Cobbler. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I feel like using a variety of apples is the way to get the best flavor for any apple dessert you’re making. Using only one type of apple gives you only one flavor profile. Using a blend means your cobbler will land somewhere perfectly in the middle of tart and sweet. For today’s recipe, I used Gala, Granny smith, and HoneyCrisp. Get them all peeled, either with a potato peeler or one of those fancy apple peelers! Lifetime goals, amiright? Peel your apples and slice them mega thin. Guys, nobody wants to be gnawing on a thick chunk of apple that didn’t get cooked all the way. Be kind to your guests, slice your apples thin. I usually aim for about 1/8 inch. Here’s how I slice: As you slice, toss the apples in lemon juice to keep them from browning. And don’t forget a little zest too! Mix them up in a large high-sided skillet, so that you will be ready to cook your apples. Yes, we are cooking these apples before they even go in the oven, and I will tell you why. Something magical happens when you gently cook the apple filling over a longer period of time. The pectin in the apples is converted to a heat-stable form. That means when you cook the apples again in the oven, the apples won’t become mushy. Whatever level of “al dente” they are at when you finish cooking them on the stove, that’s how it will taste in your cobbler. So you can adjust the cooking time a bit to reach your level of apple perfection. Cook longer if you like softer apples; shorter if you like them more firm. You don’t have to calculate for further cooking in the oven. Crazy, right? Science! So once you’ve added your flour, sugar, and spices to the apples, place the pan over medium heat and let cook for about 20 minutes. Cover the pan, but stay nearby because you’re going to have to stir the mixture every couple minutes, replacing the lid each time. This keeps the steam in and helps cook the apples. You are going to get this glorious caramel-y sauce going. Once they are cooked and you’ve added the vanilla, transfer to a 9×13 inch pan. You don’t, technically, have to cook your apples before tossing them in the oven. It’s just a lot tastier that way, in my humble opinion. Let’s have a look see:
By cooking off the excess moisture, we get apple-flavor-maximum The apples are ALL cooked perfectly al dente, not too hard, definitely not mushy You get a deep caramel-like sauce that I would happily bathe in BUT, it’s an annoying step. More time, more pans to wash.
more watery, less caramel-y sauce the apples are not as flavorful (too much moisture!) The apples on the edges of the pan will be more cooked (and appear translucent) than the apples in the center of the pan (center apples will still look white) BUT, it’s way faster, I mean come on.
Cooked apples: use 5 tablespoons flour Raw apples: use 1/2 cup flour
All of this is included in the details of the recipe, don’t worry about taking notes! If you used uncooked apples, you might consider covering your cobbler with foil in the last few minutes of cook time, to decrease browning on the top, while giving the apples as much time as possible in the oven to soften up. Then, it’s go time. Give it a couple minutes to rest (so that you don’t burn your tongue on lava-level-hot-apples), then DIG IN. If you’re serving this on day 2, I recommend warming it up in a 350 degree oven so the topping can re-crisp a bit. Because of the moist, delicious filling, it will get soggier after day 1 and you’ve got to compensate. (This doesn’t mean you can’t microwave it…I’m just sayin’ do as I say, not as I do.) And if you really want to, you can freeze a whole baked cobbler for up to 3 months. After baking, let cool completely, then add a double layer of plastic wrap and a layer of foil over the cobbler. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, and then warm in the oven. The cobbler topping will have absorbed a lot of the apple liquid, so it won’t be as great as when it was fresh. Also, remember to freeze in a disposable pan, so you’re not holding one of your dishes hostage in the freezer for months. You can also freeze individual portions. This is my least favorite method, since you’ll likely warm it in the microwave vs the oven, and the topping can get a bit more soggy.
Homemade Apple Pie « literally the best pie, uses the same filling as today’s cobbler Peach Cobbler « okay, not apple, but today’s recipe is based on this one so it deserves a mention! It’s so good! Dutch Apple Pie Recipe « it’s the best of both worlds with a pastry crust on the bottom and a crumble streusel on top, with heavenly apples in between Apple Pie Bars « kinda like making pie, but handier! Because you can eat them with your hands. Get it? Get it?? ok fine Apple Crisp, with a Ridiculous Amount of Streusel « go big or go home with the streusel, folks Apple Custard Pie with Cinnamon Streusel « similar to Dutch Apple Pie, but with an amazingly creamy custard layer that will make you swoon Caramel Cinnamon Apple Enchiladas from Worth Whisking Fresh Apple Cake from Miss In The Kitchen German Apple Pancakes from Girl vs Dough
“H2 idea: Who apple? K, not sure how you could use this but I just thought this as a highly-ranked apple cobbler heading was really funny, lol. I keep saying it to myself – who apple?!?!?!” Who apple? Apple cobbler, ya’ll. 😂😂
