Easy Southern Bourbon Peach Cobbler

This is the best peach cobbler recipe; it's so fast, easy, and simple to make from scratch! Use canned peaches for ease, baked with delicious cinnamon-sugar drop biscuit-dumplings and spiked with a splash of bourbon, then topped with vanilla ice cream for the perfect end-of-summer southern dessert. This cobbler is the classic sister of my super easy no-fuss peach crisp, a popular dessert on Sweet Tea and Thyme!

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When I was a little girl, my mother would make peach cobbler at the end of summer. It's how I knew that school (which I loved! My elementary schools in Virginia Beach were awesome) was going to start soon. A bubbling dish full of sweet sugary peaches and deliciously spiced cobbler crust would pop up at the Labor Day cookout and after dinner when I would spend all day riding bikes and climbing trees with my friends in base housing.

I wanted to bring that comforting southern peach cobbler to the blog because here we are at the end of summer, school starting for my now-first-grader (yes, Greyson is now going into first grade!), and my mind has been on slowly transitioning into fall with delicious warm spices and the best ever peach cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream.

Origins of Peach Cobbler

Cobblers are an entirely American dessert in origin. A cobbler is a dessert made by English settlers who wanted pie but didn't have the ingredients and culinary knowledge of how to make one. So they 'cobbled' preserved fruit with biscuit dough on top, which was baked in a wood oven or over open fire in hearths.

One of the first Black cookbook authors, a freed Black woman named Abby Fisher, had become famous for her popular peach cobbler recipe in her cookbook What Mrs. Fisher knows about Southern Cooking which was lost for over 80 years due to an earthquake in San Fransisco where she lived before popping up at an auction in the 1980s and you can now buy copies of on Amazon. That peach cobbler recipe is actually used by Disney theme parks during Black History Month, giving Mrs. Abby credit and keeping her legacy alive.

The peach cobbler, however, is simply a southern dessert through and through. At the time American peaches only grew in the South; it has the best temperature for growing peaches as peaches are a temperamental and finicky crop.

Canned peaches became popular to use as the English settlers began colonizing more Native American land in the west. In the 1950s in order to make canned peaches more mainstream, the state of Georgia declared April 13th National Peach Cobbler Day.

I'm very picky about my peach cobblers. Mostly because of my need to know what everything is...but I need you all to know that the peach cobbler you're used to, where you make a thin cakey batter in a dish and put the peaches over it isn't a peach cobbler.

That's right, it's not peach cobbler. It's a peach buckle. But like all soul food dishes, peach cobbler is made with similar ingredients in different ways to create the same (or similar) dish.

How to make Southern Peach Cobbler

1. Mix the peaches together with the sugar, spices, bourbon (if you're using), and cornstarch. The sugar macerates the peaches --soften the peaches up in its own juices-- and the cornstarch thickens this into our cobbler's filling.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix all the topping ingredients together with a pastry cutter then mix in the hot water with a spoon.
3. Pour the peaches and juices into an 8x11 or 9x9 baking dish then drop large spoonfuls of the biscuit topping over the peaches with the spoon. Sprinkle the top of them with generous amounts of cinnamon sugar before baking in the oven.
4. Let cool then eat warm, topped with vanilla ice cream.

Peach cobbler ingredients

• Canned peaches. They're just so easy to use and take out so much prep time!
• Brown Sugar.
• Ground cinnamon, ground ginger, and freshly ground nutmeg. The fresh stuff slays pre-ground nutmeg.
• The zest and juice of 1 lemon
• A jigger of your favorite bourbon (I used a brown sugar bourbon that was gifted to me!) but it's optional if you're not an alcohol person.
• Vanilla Extract, which rounds out the flavors in almost any dessert
• Cornstarch, which thickens the macerated peach juices while the cobbler bakes.

• All-purpose flour.
• Brown sugar and granulated sugar.
• Baking powder, for lift. No baking powder, no lift!
• Cold butter, cubed up. Use a pastry cutter or food processor to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. Cold butter is what makes biscuits nice and flaky and light.
• Boiling hot water. The boiling hot water is weird, I know. But it messes with the gluten structure of the dough, bringing a delightful mouthfeel (and not a dry biscuit topping)
• Cinnamon Sugar. So easy to make and gives the topping delicious texture!

Best types of peaches for cobbler

If you're going for fresh peaches, let me put it out there: the best type of peaches for cobbler are yellow freestone peaches.

Freestone vs. Clingstone

The two most common types of peaches are freestone and clingstone. Freestone peach pits are easily removed, while clingstone peaches' pits won't come out to save your life. A lot of canned peaches are clingstone peaches, which are prized for being super juicy.

But for cobbler, you'll want freestone peaches to make your life easy. The most popular variety in the grocery store is the Georgia peach ;).

How to peel fresh peaches

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Score the bottoms of your peaches with an X and drop them into the boiling water for about one minute. Use a pairing knife to gently peel the skins off. 

Cut the peaches in half, using the seam of the peach as a guide, working the knife around the pit. Twist to open the peaches and gently remove the pits. Slice the peaches into wedges about ½" thick and use in the recipe!

Can I use canned peaches instead of fresh?

In a word, YES! I'm using canned peaches in this recipe. Canned peaches make prep so much easier and are no less juicy or sweet as the fresh ones.

But I also like using fresh peaches for the novelty, too. Hey, some of us just love the nostalgic drudgery of making a homemade apple pie by hand, right? I do, especially around this time of year!

How to make peach cobbler with canned peaches in advance

Peach cobbler can be baked a few days ahead before serving, but if you want hot and fresh cobbler without prep on that day (perfect for big summer cookouts and Thanksgiving!) here's how to prep ahead:

1. Mix the peaches, spices, and sugar together in a bowl. Cover and set in the fridge for up to three days. If you're using the bourbon, it will be added the day of baking along with the cornstarch.
2. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl with the pastry cutter, then cover and put it into the fridge as well. Pour the boiling hot water into the mixture the day of.
3. Follow the directions to build and bake the peach cobbler the day you're ready for it!

How to store southern peach cobbler

Place the completely cooled peach cobbler in the refrigerator, with a lid or wrapped with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Keep it away from anything with strong smells like garlicky foods or onions or it can absorb those flavors. It should be eaten within three days.

How to freeze it

Wrap the peach cobbler with two layers of plastic wrap first, then add a layer of foil to keep as much moisture out as possible. Keep in the freezer for up to 4-6 months.

How To Freeze Cobbler In Individual Serving Sizes

The benefit of freezing peach cobbler in serving sizes is that you don’t have to worry about wasting any precious cobbler by reheating the whole thing and not being able to finish it.

To do this, cool your peach cobbler completely, preferably in the fridge. The syrupy peach filling will solidify, making it easier for you to scoop out the individual portions into freezer-safe zip-top bags or freezer-safe air-tight containers.

How to reheat peach cobbler

The great thing about reheating southern peach cobbler, whether refrigerated or frozen, you can just throw it into the oven!

• Preheat your oven to 250 degrees F (130 degrees C). You can put it into the oven directly from the fridge as long as it’s in an oven-safe dish. Take the peach cobbler out of the fridge or freezer and transfer it to an oven-safe dish if it's not.
• Once the oven is heated, put your cobbler on the middle rack to heat it up. For individual serving sizes, reheat for 10-15 minutes. For a whole cobbler, 30 to 45 minutes, depending on if it's frozen or refrigerated.
• Carefully take the peach cobbler out of the oven, and place it on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes before serving.

Recommended Tools

• Large Mixing Bowls
• Pastry Cutter
• An 8x11 Baking Dish
• Oven Mitts! Very important!

Want more warm and cozy desserts? Check out:

• Easy Caramel Apple Galette
• Super Moist Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
• Peach Crisp
• Crispy, Snappy Gingersnap Cookies
• Apple Fritter Donuts with Maple Glaze