Old Southern Fruit Cobbler
county-cookbook-peach-cobbler-podcast

About this Recipe

This simple fruit cobbler comes from the Bath County community cookbook treasured by Alex Matuszeski’s family.

The recipe uses a thin batter poured over melted butter, followed by sweetened seasonal fruit. As it bakes, the batter rises around the fruit while the bottom develops the buttery, slightly crisp texture Alex remembers from childhood.

Peaches are the family favorite, but the original recipe also recommends berries, plums, or apples.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups of fruit
  • Sugar to sweeten the fruit, to taste
  • ¾ cup butter or margarine
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ cup milk

The original recipe suggests:

  • Peaches
  • Berries
  • Plums
  • Apples

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Finely chop or lightly mash 3 cups of fruit.
  3. Sweeten the prepared fruit to taste and set it aside.
  4. Place the butter or margarine and 1 cup of sugar in a deep glass baking dish or Pyrex pie plate.
  5. Put the dish in the oven until the butter has melted.
  6. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and milk to make a thin batter.
  7. Pour the batter over the melted butter mixture. Do not stir.
  8. Pour the prepared fruit over the batter. Do not stir.
  9. Bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and cooked through.
  10. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cold with light cream or ice cream.

Recipe Notes

Alex remembers his mother using salted butter and pouring the batter into the already-hot baking dish. That immediate contact helps create the crisp, chewy, buttery layer he considers the best part of the cobbler. He also emphasizes that the family version is intentionally simple—without cinnamon, nutmeg, a crumb topping, or other unnecessary additions.