Cherry Cobbler with Biscuits

This is such a delicious dessert, cherry cobbler with biscuits in a cast iron skillet, using fresh cherries. The cobbler is made with buttermilk biscuits that are so fluffy and light with the perfect golden brown crisp top. Way better than any pie you could make and so much easier!

Jump to:

• What is cherry cobbler?
• What makes this skillet cherry cobbler so good?
• Ingredients you need:
• How to make the easiest biscuit cherry cobbler:
• How to serve fresh cherry cobbler:
• Storing leftover cherry cobbler with biscuit topping:
• Recipe tips and tricks:
• Recipe FAQs:
• For more delicious dessert recipes:
• Cherry Cobbler with Biscuits

What is cherry cobbler?

It’s a delicious dessert made with sweetened cherries topped with buttermilk biscuits. This is baked until the cherries are soft and saucy, and the biscuits tender and golden brown with a little crunch on the top.

It’s sort of like pie in a skillet form, without a bottom crust. I like it even more than pie because the biscuit topping is so thick and fluffy it blows pie crust out of the water!

What makes this skillet cherry cobbler so good?

• I make my own buttermilk in minutes, making it super easy to whip up the buttermilk biscuit topping.
• It’s baked in a skillet, which is always beautiful for presentation, but you can bake it in any baking dish you like!
• Fresh cherry cobbler is the perfect way to use up cherries when they are in season. This is a great dessert to really get them to shine.
• It’s so much easier than making a pie, and in my opinion with even better flavor and texture. My kids have a love for cobbler that is pretty much unreciprocated especially when it’s warm and bubbling out hte oven with a big scoop of ice cream!

Ingredients you need:

Cherries: I use fresh cherries, go for the sweet ones (not sour cherries). If you only have frozen, those will also work! Thaw them first so they don’t release too much extra liquid.

Flour: You’ll use this both in the filling to help thicken the cherry sauce as they cook down, and in the buttermilk biscuit topping. If you prefer, you can substitute this with cornstarch.

Sugar: A little white sugar to boost the sweetness of the cherries, and some in the buttermilk biscuits.

Lemon zest: This is such an essential ingredient. It really brightens up the cherry filling.

Baking powder: Make sure you use fresh baking powder to really give the biscuits the lift they need.

Salt: Just a touch in the biscuit batter to enhance the flavor

Butter: Unsalted butter, that’s cut into cubes and kept cold. I keep this in the fridge until right before making the biscuits. The reason you want the butter cold is because it’ll soften as you work it into the flour, and you don’t want it to soften too much. Intact butter pieces will melt in the oven creating those fluffy pockets in the biscuits.

Buttermilk: You can use store bought buttermilk, or do what I do and make your own in 5 minutes. I add a tablespoon of vinegar to a 3/4 cup measuring cup, then top up the rest with regular full fat milk. Let it stand for 5 minutes until curdled, then you can use in recipe. I love buttermilk biscuits in cobbler, but you can absolutely substitute this with heavy cream instead.

Demerara or coarse sugar: To sprinkle on top of the biscuits to give a lovely crunch and a little sweetness,

How to make the easiest biscuit cherry cobbler:

1. Preheat the oven to 375F (190C) and pit the cherries, then place them in a large bowl. Toss with the flour, sugar, and lemon zest. Pour this filling mixture into your 10 inch cast iron skillet and set aside
2. Make the dough by mixing the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and work with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse meal with little lumps of butter intact.
3. Add the buttermilk, and stir until the dough comes together. It’ll be sticky, but if it’s too sticky to work with, sprinkle in a little extra flour.
4. Either form 4 patties out of the biscuit dough and place each patty over the cherry filling, or if the dough is too sticky, just spoon it out directly on the cherry mixture, in 4 big dollops. Spread out a little until most of the cherries are covered, leaving the edges exposed, and sprinkle the top of the dough with demerara or coarse sugar.
5. Bake until the topping is brown and the juices bubble thickly around it, about 35 to 40 minutes. If you want to get some extra color, you can broil for the last couple of minutes. Let cool slightly then serve!

How to serve fresh cherry cobbler:

There’s nothing like warm cobbler served with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s a match made in heaven! You can of course have this without ice cream, maybe with a big dollop of whipped cream or some powdered sugar sprinkled on top. I love having this with a big glass of cold milk.

Storing leftover cherry cobbler with biscuit topping:

Leftover cobbler lasts 4-5 days in the fridge, either right in the skillet with foil or plastic wrap on top, or transfered to an airtight container.

You can reheat either in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, or in the oven at 350 F (180C) for about 10-12 minutes. You can even use your air fryer to reheat, for 4-5 minutes.

To freeze cherry cobbler, wrap it very well with plastic wrap, then foil, or place in an airtight container. It’ll last for about 2-3 months in the freezer, and to avoid the dough getting soggy, reheat in a hot 350F (180C) oven for 20 minutes or until warmed through, covered in foil, then remove the foil and broil for a couple minutes.

Recipe tips and tricks:

• Highly recommend getting a cherry pitter- saves so much time when pitting cherries!
• If you want the cherries super soft, broken down and saucy, then I’d cook the cherries with the filling ingredients in a large saucepan on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, then pour into the skillet and allow to cool before making the biscuit topping. I like them more intact, and how easy it is to make the cobbler with fresh cherries without cooking down, but it’s a matter of preference!
• Make sure you are using cold butter and don’t overwork it too much into the dough, to make sure you get a flaky light biscuit dough.
• The batter should be sticky and not at all dry to get soft and fluffy biscuits, so avoid adding too much extra flour even if you feel the need to sprinkle a little more in.

Recipe FAQs:

For more delicious dessert recipes:

Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card and a comment!

Stay in touch with me through social media @ Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. Don’t forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes!