Recipe: Slow-Cooker Peach and Blueberry Cobbler

Christine Gallary
Christine GallarySenior Recipe Editor at The Kitchn
I grew up in a Chinese food-loving family, eating my first restaurant meals in Oakland's vibrant Chinatown. My love of food but lack of cooking experience led to me Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, where I graduated with a Diplôme de Cuisine in French cooking. After culinary school, I learned how to test and edit recipes in test kitchens at Cook's Illustrated and CHOW, falling in love with the process of rigorously testing recipes to make sure they were foolproof for the home cook. I've worked with thousands of recipes over the past 15 years, including developing recipes for the James Beard-award winning Mister Jiu's in Chinatown cookbook. Living in the delicious diversity of San Francisco, I never get tired of finding new ingredients or cuisines to try. My favorite type is Cantonese home cooking — I'm on a quest to recreate the dishes my grandmother used to make. All the food I test at home is eagerly tasted and enjoyed by my husband, Hayden, and daughter, Sophie, while our little dog, Mochi, looks wistfully on.
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published Jun 14, 2016
summer
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Credit: Diana Yen

Serves6 to 8

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Beside being one of the iconic desserts of summer, a cobbler has quite a few qualities that keep it on the top of our summer must-cook lists. Cobblers can showcase whatever juicy fruit is currently in season; they have a beautiful, rustic appearance; and they’re much, much easier to make than pie.

Perhaps the only drawback of a cobbler is having to turn on the oven — but not anymore! Your trusty slow cooker can produce a tasty fruit cobbler, leaving you and your kitchen as cool as a cucumber. This peach and blueberry version is flecked throughout with fragrant vanilla bean seeds.

Peaches (or nectarines, their non-fuzzy counterparts) are the base of this simple cobbler. White or yellow is really up to you, but I tend to like yellow peaches more because they have a slightly more tart, complex flavor. Add in plump blueberries, and then split open a vanilla bean pod to scrape out the seeds inside to flavor the filling.

Learn More About Vanilla Beans: How To Use a Vanilla Bean

Once the fruit filling is mixed together, it gets transferred to a slow cooker and topped with an easy cobbler dough that’s stirred together and dolloped on top. The last step is the critical one: Cover the slow cooker with a layer of paper towels before putting on the lid. The paper towels help to absorb the steam that rises up, preventing it from condensing and dripping back onto the cobbler. The result is a cobbler topping that isn’t soggy; it’s even a bit browned on the edges — just like one made in the oven.

(Image credit: Diana Yen)

Serve this cobbler on its own, or top with some whipped cream or scoops of vanilla bean ice cream if you want to go a la mode instead.

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Slow-Cooker Peach and Blueberry Cobbler

Serves 6 to 8

Nutritional Info

Ingredients

For the filling:

  • Butter or cooking spray, for coating the slow cooker

  • 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 pounds

    peaches or nectarines (about 6 medium)

  • 6 ounces

    blueberries (about 1 1/4 cups)

  • 1/2

    vanilla bean

  • 3/4 cup

    granulated sugar

  • 1 tablespoon

    cornstarch

  • 1 tablespoon

    freshly squeezed lemon juice

  • 1/4 teaspoon

    fine salt

For the topping:

  • 1 cup

    all-purpose flour

  • 1/3 cup

    granulated sugar

  • 1 1/4 teaspoons

    baking powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon

    fine salt

  • 1/2

    vanilla bean

  • 1/3 cup

    whole milk

  • 5 tablespoons

    unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

Make the filling:

  1. Generously coat the insert of a 6-quart or larger slow cooker with cooking spray or butter.

  2. Halve and remove the pits from the peaches. Cut into 1/3- to 3/4-inch-thick slices. Place in a large bowl and add the blueberries.

  3. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and add the seeds to the bowl. (Save the pod for another use.) Add the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and salt, and gently stir with a rubber spatula to combine. Pour the fruit filling into the slow cooker and spread into an even layer.

Make the topping:

  1. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and add the seeds to the bowl. (Save the pod for another use.) Whisk to combine.

  2. Add the milk and butter and stir it in with the rubber spatula until the flour is just moistened and a soft dough is formed. Be careful not to overmix. Drop heaping tablespoons of the dough over the fruit in an even layer (it will not completely cover the fruit).

  3. Place a large sheet of paper towels over the slow cooker, making sure it completely covers the top of the slow cooker, but does not sag down onto the cobbler. Cover with the slow-cooker lid.

  4. Cook until the fruit is tender, the filling is bubbling and thick, and the cobbler topping is puffed and set, about 2 1/2 hours on high or 4 hours on low. A toothpick or cake tester inserted in the cobbler topping should come out clean.

  5. Discard the paper towel. Let the cobbler cool at least 15 minutes uncovered before serving. If transporting to a picnic or party, let the cobbler cool completely to give the fruit filling time to set.

Recipe Notes

Storage: Store the cobbler, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Serve cold, room temperature, or rewarmed in a 300°F oven for 20 minutes.

Sugar: Swap out the granulated sugar in the fruit filling for brown sugar for a filling that's similar to a crumble.

Filed in:
Cooking Methods
Dessert
easy
Make Ahead
milk
Slow Cooker