Fresh Strawberry Cobbler
Move over peach cobbler, strawberry cobbler is the new kid in town! The perfect combination of fresh, sweet fruit and tender biscuit topping, I’m totally in love with this cobbler.
I know summer has just barely begun but is it too early for me to declare a favorite summer dessert? Can I?
I think I shall.
Strawberry cobbler. Oh my goodness, it’s amazing.
Long left out by other cobbler favorites (peach and blueberry, I’m looking at you), it’s a shame I’ve waited so long to plunge fresh, juicy strawberries in a sweet filling and top them with tender, buttery, sugared biscuits.
I’ve detailed all the tricks (nothing complicated!) to make this strawberry cobbler perfect. You don’t want mushy strawberry filling. No, no.
And you don’t want tough, dry biscuits. Double no, no. So read through the recipe, try your best to follow it, and you’ll be good (and so will your strawberry cobbler).
While this strawberry cobbler was delicious warm the first night, we willingly devoured the leftovers the next day without a single complaint (a quick pop in the microwave to warm for some, while others of us who shall remain nameless spooned it straight from the dish).
Even my 8-year old who vocally detests anything involving “cooked fruit” gobbled this up. I’m sure the double scoop of vanilla ice cream on top didn’t hurt, but still. I consider it a cobbler victory.
One Year Ago: Blueberry Custard Pie with Buttery Pecan Streusel
Two Years Ago: Thin and Chewy Butterfinger Cookies
Three Years Ago: Pesto and Sausage Baked Ziti
Strawberry Cobbler
Ingredients
Strawberry Filling:
- 8 cups (about 850 grams) fresh strawberries, green tops removed, washed and dried very well (see note about how to cut)
- ⅔ cup (141 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
- 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, a good squeeze from half a lemon
Biscuit Topping:
- 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (106 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
- ¾ cup buttermilk (see note)
- 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F; place an oven rack in the center of the oven.
- Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan.
- For the filling, in a medium bowl, toss the strawberries with the sugar, cornstarch, salt and lemon juice. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.
- For the biscuits, in a medium bowl (wipe the strawberry bowl dry and use that one to save a dish!), whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add the butter pieces and cut them into the flour mixture using a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingers, until the butter is in pea-size or slightly smaller pieces.
- Stir in the buttermilk until the dough is just combined; don’t overmix! It will be a bit lumpy and it’s ok if there are a few dry streaks here and there.
- Scoop out the biscuit topping in 12 or so even spoonfuls, press each portion into a somewhat flat ball and space them evenly over the top of the filling (if your dough is too sticky to press, just drop it directly onto the strawberry filling). Sprinkle the 1-2 teaspoons sugar over the top of the biscuits.
- Bake the cobbler for 20-25 minutes until the biscuits are golden on top and the filling is bubbling. To test the doneness of the biscuits, use a knife to gently lift a biscuit up and just slightly away from the filling – if there is wet dough underneath, continue baking for 2-3 minute increments until the biscuits are completely cooked through.
- Let the cobbler rest for 10-15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature – it’s even more delicious with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: strawberry filling from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, cobbler topping adapted from a recipe in Cook’s Illustrated Complete Cookbook
Delicious; the perfect ending to our July fourth dinner. Not too sweet, a plus
Almost the exact recipe my mother in law has passed down for as my husband calls “strawberry dumplings” . Everyone loves this. Im trying your recipe tomorrow, will update you to see if there is any difference. See if they will know.
Blackberries…? Would they do ok here, do you think?
They might! I haven’t tried them in this recipe, but you could definitely experiment!
Reporting back after using fresh blackberries! I adjusted with a little extra sugar (closer to 3/4c in the fruit) and a little extra cornstarch because my berries were so juicy.
Delicious!! After letting it cool the fruit was so amazing. I was worried it would be too liquidy, but no! Love it.
Yay! Thanks for the report back!
Oh my amazing strawberries this is good. My whole family devoured this and promptly exclaimed that “Mommy is the best cook”. Win!!!
I followed the recipe to the T.
This is so delicious!
This was so fantastic. I halved the recipe since I did not want to be tempted with the leftovers. The only change I made was to add 1/4 t. almond extract to the strawberry mixture in lieu of the lemon as I was out of lemons. Nancy Fuller from the Farmhouse Rules show has a delicious strawberry buckle that uses almond extract, which I really love. It turned out just great. I sprinkled a new sugar I just ordered on top of the biscuit part. It is called swedish pearl sugar, which I bought on the KAF website. I love the look of it and the sweet crunch!
I’m kicking myself for not picking up that Swedish pearl sugar at IKEA on my road trip a few days ago! Someone else told me it is so delicious on scones and cobblers like this!
Perfect way to use our first batch of garden strawberries. We only had 4 cups of them so I halved the recipe, but it fit beautifully into a 9-inch pie plate. I’m a cinnamon fan so I’m looking forward to maybe adding a little cinnamon to the filling and topping. Hopefully more strawberries come in so I won’t have to wait long!
Can any or all be made ahead of time? Maybe the night before or the morning of a dinner party?
The texture of the topping changes if made longer than a couple hours in advance (meaning, it gets quite a bit softer/soggier).
So delicious! Recipe is perfect. The strawberries really shine…not too sugar sweet…the PERFECT way to enjoy strawberry season. Thank you so much!!
So yummy! Made it exact to recipe and came out perfect!!!
Easy to prepare and tasted good! Made a wonderful dessert that was well liked by the family. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I made this for a 4th of July cookout and it was so good that it disappeared quickly! I’m making it again for another cookout tomorrow. This was my first time using a pastry blender and it wasn’t hard at all. So, if you’re a newbie like me, have faith that you can make this and it will taste great! 🙂 Thanks, Mel!
Ughhhhh this is SOOOO GOOD! It’s basically all of my strawberry shortcake dreams come true. It was the perfect dessert for the 4th! It was simple and delicious, making it the perfect summer dessert. Can’t wait to make it again!
We made this and it was soooooo good! My family was kind of hesitant, “cooked strawberries??” but they all loved it!!!! It was all gone very, very quickly.
I’m so glad you shared this yummy-oh-so-wonderful strawberry cobbler! I’ve eaten so many strawberries already this summer and haven’t stopped yet. I’d call it a craving for sure!! But strawberries are the best when they are fresh. Mmmm…strawberries AND cobbler. Can’t wait to make it.
Love fresh strawberries. My fav it strawberry pancakes. We will have to try this with vanilla bean ice cream!
Delicious! My kids and I picked strawberries today and this was a perfect way to highlight them. The biscuit part was especially yummy — thanks for another beautiful recipe.
I made this last night and it was awesome! It was a tiny bit tart which I loved!
Do you have any thoughts on how it would be with frozen berries?
Hey Becky – Mel doesn’t have access to internet right now so I’m helping her out with comments for the next few days. I don’t for for sure because I haven’t tried it with frozen berries, but I worry that frozen berries would make this way too soupy. Report back if you try it though!
Hi Becky, I think Emily is right – strawberries, while delicious, are a little finicky in baking because they have so much water content – and frozen strawberries especially. I think it might make the fruit layer too watery but having said that, I love experimenting and if you do, too (which I think you do :), you could try it and add a bit more cornstarch or thaw and drain the strawberries before using.
Well- it is official. This is the best thing we have ever put in our mouths in the history of ever. Thanks Mel!!
Rachel, Mel will be so excited that you tried it already and loved it! Thanks for reporting back so quickly.
Blackberries…? I have a flat of beautiful blackberries that I want to make into a dessert… tho eating them straight from the box has been amazing, too.
Just wondering how u think this would be in a cast iron cooked over the fire? while camping, it sounds yummy and different .
Dianne – Mel doesn’t have access to internet right now so I’m helping her out with comments for the next few days. I think that could definitely work. My husband has made countless cobblers in his dutch oven, and I don’t see how this one would be any different. Good luck if you try it!
I noticed the cobbler in small ramekins, would you cook them the same amount of time?
Hello Kathy – Mel doesn’t have access to internet right now so I’m helping her out with comments for the next few days. I think Mel just dished the cooked cobbler into ramekins, but you could certainly bake them that way as well. I would bake for 15 minutes and start checking them after that.
Hi Kathy – Em’s right (thanks, Em!), I just dished it out into the smaller ramekins for serving – those are actually my favorite serving dishes for cobblers and hot fudge pudding cake but I didn’t actually bake the cobbler in them. You definitely could, though! And yes, you’d want to decrease time so the topping doesn’t burn.
Thank you for always being considerate and sharing such wonderful recipes. I may have to add a little chopped rhubarb to the strawberries. My husband loves that combination. Have a safe trip. Good wishes and blessings to you and your family!
The rhubarb addition sounds delicious. You will have to report back if you try it and let us know how it turns out.
I love strawberry cobbler! Have a great trip, Mel! My parents are temple missionaries in Accra if you make it there.
Hi Erin – thanks for the well wishes! We had a great time and actually were near the temple but unfortunately, didn’t see any cute senior missionaries. I couldn’t believe how many people we met there, though, that we actually “knew” through other people. It’s such a small world!
I am definitely going to try this recipe! What a delicious change from plain old strawberry shortcake! Thanks for the recipe. I know I can always depend on you for something really good.
My favorite fruit by far is strawberries! I had no idea they would hold up in a cobbler…this looks amazing!
This looks delicious! I’ll have to try to figure out when to make this in the next couple of days.
How on Earth do you find the time to travel to Ghana with everything you have going on including raising 5 kids? You are superwoman. Safe travels to you and your husband. What a wonderful thing to do.
Lori – Mel really is superwoman. She does everything! I know she is excited to get back and share her adventure with all of her readers.
Ha! Emily is wrong. I am far from superwoman. But this trip is humanitarian in nature and even though it was difficult to leave, it was a truly amazing experience!
Oh my goodness, my daughters will go crazy for this!