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Skillet Apple Cobbler, apple dessert recipes for fall
Brittany Stage

Skillet Apple Cobbler

This cast iron skillet cobbler has caramelized apple filling around the edges and a golden drop biscuit topping that is crisp outside and tender inside. It bakes in about 35 minutes and goes straight from oven to table for a truly no-fuss fall dessert.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 340
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 lbs firm baking apples Honeycrisp, Braeburn, or Fuji, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick, about 6 medium apples
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar for the filling
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice about half a lemon
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter cut into small pieces, for the filling
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour for biscuit topping
  • 2 tbsp granulated sugar for biscuit topping
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp fine salt
  • 6 tbsp cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes
  • 2/3 cup whole milk or buttermilk cold
  • 1 tbsp coarse sugar for sprinkling on top, optional

Equipment

  • 10 or 12-inch cast iron skillet
  • large mixing bowl
  • medium mixing bowl
  • pastry cutter or fork

Method
 

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Place your cast iron skillet on the stovetop but leave the burner off for now.
  2. In a large bowl, toss the sliced apples with 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon juice until every slice is coated. The mixture will look slightly wet and that is fine.
  3. Pour the apple mixture into the cast iron skillet and spread it into an even layer. Scatter the small pieces of butter over the top of the apples.
  4. Make the biscuit topping. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the cold cubed butter and use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to work it in until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs with a few pea-sized butter pieces remaining. Pour in the cold milk and stir gently with a fork just until a shaggy, sticky dough comes together. Do not overmix.
  5. Drop heaping spoonfuls of the biscuit dough over the apple filling, leaving small gaps between them so steam can escape. You should get about 8 to 10 rough mounds. Sprinkle the tops with coarse sugar if using.
  6. Bake for 33 to 38 minutes. The biscuits should be deep golden brown and the apple filling should be visibly bubbling around the edges and through the gaps. If the filling is not bubbling yet, give it another 5 minutes even if the biscuits look done. The bubbling tells you the cornstarch has thickened properly.
  7. Remove from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. The filling will be extremely hot. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream scooped directly from the skillet.

Notes

Use a 12-inch skillet if you have one for a slightly thinner, more evenly baked filling. A 10-inch skillet will give you deeper fruit and thicker biscuits, both are good.