This old-fashioned Easy Southern Peach Cobbler [with Canned Peaches] recipe is a beautiful rendition of a dessert that is absolutely out of this world good! Entirely from scratch, but using canned peaches for convenience, it has a true Southern touch and will have the entire family asking for seconds. Sweet cinnamon biscuits are the perfect buttery topping to serve with a few scoops of ice cream or whipped cream for a delightful spring or summer sweet treat. Vegan + Gluten-Free options.
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Seriously, I don't know what to say about this recipe. When it comes to Southern recipes, it always brings me down memory lane, because I've enjoyed so many of these recipes as a kid growing up in Florida. But if you're in the North (like me in NYC) or states where peaches aren't as readily available or you just feel like enjoying this sweet dessert before peach season, lo' and behold this Easy Southern Peach Cobbler [with Canned Peaches] recipe. It's just as delicious as using actual fresh peaches, especially when using a high-quality canned peach.
While this peach cobbler recipe is in all of it's full dairy glory, you'll love this Vegan Southern Peach Cobbler if you're dairy sensitive or eat a vegan based diet. Of course, you won't regret making this peach cobbler because your loved ones will be back for seconds---guaranteed! And if you're feeling in a Southern comfort food mood, then you need to try this Chicken Pot Pie, Crispy Oven Fried Chicken, BEST Southern Baked Mac and Cheese, and My Grandma's Baked Southern Banana Pudding.
Although this peach cobbler uses canned peaches specifically, if you'd like to make it more traditional by using actual fresh peaches, you'll want to use unpeeled peaches. Believe it or not, keeping the skin on your peaches actually gives the cobbler more depth flavor and a beautiful color in the filling. And don't worry---the peach skins won't be hard and they actually soften greatly which still makes for the perfect bite!
The great thing about peach cobbler is that you can totally use fresh, frozen, or canned peaches to create this magical dessert. However, if it's peach season and the summer, it's always best to go with fresh ones!
If you're wondering how to pack all of the classic Southern flavors and textures in just one dessert like this Easy Southern Peach Cobbler [with Canned Peaches], then here's the rundown. You'll first start by prepping your peaches well. This includes draining them thoroughly and patting them dry to remove as much moisture and juice as possible. This avoids the filling from being too watery.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease a standard 9x13-inch baking dish with butter and oil. Mix together the peaches and the filling ingredients (except the butter) and toss until peaches are coated. Add peaches mixture to baking dish, tuck in the butter, and bake FIRST for 20-25 minutes. This helps for the biscuit topping to cook through nicely and evenly.
Whip together the biscuit topping and once the peaches are baked for the a lotted time, scoop on biscuit dough, brush with egg wash, and bake until deep brown and filling is bubbling. Serve with your favorite topping and wallah!
One of the highlights of this peach cobbler recipe is of course the gooey, spiced filling. You'll need:
The second highlight of this peach cobbler is the Cinnamon Biscuits topping which only requires:
If you decide while making this peach cobbler that you'd prefer to peel the skins off your peaches----no worries! A great hack to do so is to gently lower a few peaches at a time (best to use a skimmer) into a pot of boiling water and leave them in fro 20-30 seconds before removing them and into an ice bath to stop the "cooking process". Then you should be able to peel them with no problem without the need for a knife or any tool.
Baking is such a science, but more importantly because certain ingredients like your leaveners (aka baking powder + baking soda) are completely fresh so that your biscuits (and other baked goods) fully rise and bake through nicely.
Incase you weren’t aware, there’s an easy to double check both the baking powder and baking soda. Here’s what you need:
BAKING SODA HACK:
-Add 1 teaspoon baking soda with ¼ cup vinegar or lemon juice in a bowl and if it’s fresh, the mixture should “bubble/fizz”. If no bubble/fizz is present, then your baking soda needs to be replaced.
BAKING POWDER:
-Add 1 teaspoon baking powder with ¼ cup Hot tap water in a bowl and if it’s fresh, the mixture should “bubble/fizz”. If no bubble/fizz is present, then your baking powder needs to be replaced.
To thicken your peach cobbler filling is very simple. If you don’t have or don’t want to use Arrowroot starch (as in this recipe), you can always use Tapioca Flour, regular Cornstarch, or flour instead. Either substitution will help to thicken the mixture just fine.
As you may know, using an 'egg wash' is important when it comes to biscuit toppings and with this peach cobbler, it's no different. Of course, if you can't use regular beaten eggs as egg wash or just don't want to in the moment, now worries! Here are great alternatives:
Yes---I know. You might be wondering why I've stated this but it works. Since we'll be using 6 Tbsps of butter in this recipe, I simply cube half of the amount butter and grate the other half. Honestly, I think that the variation in the butter pieces helps some to melt faster and settle more in the dough, which creates a beautiful flakiness like no other for these cinnamon biscuits atop this peach cobbler recipe.
If you're making this peach cobbler and you've decided that you'd rather use canned or "refrigerator" biscuits (as Southerners call it)---that's totally fine! You can still achieve the same deliciousness by making a few tweaks:
Of course! To make the biscuit topping GF, simply substitute the flour with GF All-Purpose flour or 1-to-1 GF Baking Flour, which Bob's Red Mill has a great one! Ensure that other ingredients are GF-friendly (i.e. stock, etc.).
Basically, cornstarch or arrowroot is used to help thicken the filling and ensure that it doesn't come out too runny.
The best way to help to ripe hard peaches is to put them in a paper bag and leave on the counter for a day. And if it still isn't soften, keep it in the bag for another 24 hours or so.
This goes back to the use of cornstarch or arrowroot. Ensuring that you use a good amount of starch on your peaches helps to ensures that the filling isn't soggy or too runny. It helps to create a nice thickened sauce and perfectly tender peaches.
If you're using frozen peaches instead of fresh or canned ones, always remember to dust them in flour prior to adding them to the recipe. Secondly, you'll need to cook frozen peaches slightly longer for about 50-60 minutes total, but the steps (baking them first) is still required.
If your peaches are too ripe and soft, then they might produce too much juice, which causes your cobbler to be a lot more mushy and runny. To avoid this, it's best to ensure that your peaches are firm to the touch. Also, for the biscuit topping, ensure that the dough isn't to dense, but just thick enough. This ensures that it doesn't take an extremely long time to bake through.
Basically, lemon juice adds acidity to the cobbler which adds great structure and texture as well as a nice tartness that compliments the peaches.
Overall, this is usually due to an incorrect temperature or bake time. It's always best to ensure that your oven is preheated and that you bake your peaches for 20-25 minutes first. This helps to aid in a fully cooked through cobbler in the end.
Since baking powder is a leavener, this means that it allows baked goods to rise. Therefore, if you forget it in your peach cobbler, you'll more than likely have flat biscuits.
It's always great to test the middle with a toothpick or butter knife to ensure that it comes out mostly clean. Please note that you might see a bit of the filling when tested, but you shouldn't see any biscuit dough that's uncooked. Also, the filling should be bubbly around the sides, and the tops of the biscuits should be more deep amber than golden.
Absolutely! See my Vegan Southern Peach Cobbler recipe!
Store any leftovers in a tightly covered container or glass dish covered and refrigerated for 2-3 days before the topping begins to get mushy. To reheat, simply add leftover peach cobbler to a preheated oven of 375 degrees until warmed through.
Now that you've mastered this Peach Cobbler recipe, give these recipes that your entire family will love a try next:
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