Easy Blackberry Cobbler (from Scratch!)
Blackberry Cobbler is an easy, from-scratch, scrumptious, summer dessert recipe featuring plump, tart blackberries ribboned through a layer of sweet, tender cake. And don't forget the vanilla ice cream!
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If you enjoy summer desserts, you'll also love Summer Peach Cake, No-Bake Frozen Margarita Pie, and Mini S'mores Trifles!
One of my favorite summer desserts is cobbler. And while that often brings to mind peaches, I also love to change things up with Blackberry Cobbler! I don't know about you, but there aren't many baked desserts that bring summer to my mind more than a homemade cobbler...served warm, oozing with fruit, and topped with vanilla ice cream. And blackberries add such delicious flavor and gorgeous color to this popular seasonal treat!
I realize that different regions around the country make different versions of cobbler. And while they all involve fruit and some type of dough or batter, there are various expectations of what a cobbler should truly be. Well, I'm not here to argue technical or historical definitions, but I would venture to claim that this Blackberry Cobbler recipe is a pretty common manifestation of cobbler in the south.
Ingredients
So what do you need to make this homemade, easy Blackberry Cobbler? No artificial cake mix or Bisquick here! Just a few simple, real ingredients...
- Blackberries. If it's blackberry season, by all means use fresh! But any other time of year, frozen and thawed berries will work just dandy.
- Sugar + water. For the simple syrup that the blackberries simmer in.
- Butter. For the baking dish
- Flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, + milk. To make the homemade cobbler batter.
- Pure vanilla extract. Because everything's better with vanilla!
How to Make Blackberry Cobbler
(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)
Your start with your fruit. As I previously mentioned, in Texas, that typically means peaches or blackberries, since those are abundant through the summer in these parts. Of course, when your favorite stone fruit or berry is out of season, frozen fruit makes a great substitute for fresh.
So here's how ya make this from-scratch Blackberry Cobbler recipe:
- In a medium pot, combine blackberries, sugar, and water.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until reduced and thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
- While blackberries are cooking, whisk together flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
- Slowly blend in milk and vanilla and mix until batter is smooth.
- Put pats of butter in the bottom of a baking dish and place it in your preheated oven for a couple of minutes to melt. Remove the dish from the oven and tilt it so that the melted butter evenly coats the bottom.
- Slowly pour batter over melted butter.
- Gently spoon berries and syrup evenly over batter without stirring.
- Bake until Blackberry Cobbler is light golden brown and tests done with a toothpick inserted in the center. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream!
And that's it friends! But before you dig in, I feel obligated to mention something that I often get questions about...
An Important Note!
When you spoon the blackberries on top of the batter, the fruit will initially sink.
However, as your cobbler bakes, some of the berries will rise a bit. The result is a cake-like dessert with a gorgeous, fruity layer ribboned throughout.
So -- here's the important part -- that's why the photos in this post show blackberry deliciousness on the bottom of the baking dish...even though the instructions tell you to spoon the fruit on top of the batter.
How to Serve Blackberry Cobbler
Have I mentioned ice cream yet? In my humble opinion, cobbler is best served warm (either fresh out of the oven or reheated). And it must be topped with vanilla ice cream. If you're feeling particularly industrious, homemade ice cream is even better. 😉
I'm not ashamed to admit that I've been known to enjoy this Blackberry Cobbler recipe for breakfast. It's made with fruit, right? So it can't be that bad. Of course, it's easier to justify eating cobbler for breakfast than ice cream, but what's a girl to do?
Well, let me tell you what a girl does. A girl gets a carton of vanilla yogurt out of the fridge and spoons that on top of her cobbler for a perfectly acceptable breakfast variation. Brilliant, right? And, I can assure you, also delicious.
So the next time you have an occasion to make a summertime sweet treat -- like perhaps this weekend? -- go for this glorious, homemade, easy Blackberry Cobbler!
It's like the downhome comfort food of desserts.
And rumor has it it can even double as breakfast. 😉
More Berry Favorites
- Easy Blackberry Cake (Upside-Down Skillet Cake)
- Blueberry Crisp
- Strawberry Iced Tea
- Easy Strawberry Shortcake
- Strawberry Upside-Down Cake
Easy Blackberry Cobbler (From Scratch!)
Video
Ingredients
- 4 cups fresh blackberries
- 1 ½ cups sugar, DIVIDED
- ½ cup water
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups milk, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a medium pot, combine blackberries, 1 cup sugar, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until reduced and thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
- While blackberries are cooking, whisk together flour, remaining ½ cup sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Slowly blend in milk and vanilla and mix until batter is smooth.
- Put butter (sliced into 6 equal pieces) in a 9- by 13-inch baking dish and place in preheated oven for a couple of minutes to melt. Remove dish from oven and tilt so that butter evenly coats the bottom. Slowly pour batter over melted butter. Gently spoon berries and syrup evenly over batter without stirring.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until cobbler is light golden brown and tests done with a toothpick inserted in the center. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- About 20 ounces of frozen blackberries (thawed) may be substituted for fresh.
- The blackberries will start to break down when they are simmered. If you prefer some whole blackberries in your cobbler, you may simmer only 3 cups of berries with the sugar and water and then stir in the remaining 1 cup of berries after removing from the heat.
- The longer you cook the berries, the thicker the syrup will get.
- Blackberries are typically pretty tart, but if you use particularly sweet blackberries, you may reduce the sugar used in the simple syrup.
- The blackberries and syrup are to be spooned on top of the batter. However, the berries will sink through the batter and then partially rise as the cobbler bakes. This is why you see the blackberry layer at the bottom of the cobbler in the photos.
Nutrition
Post originally published on May 26, 2014, and updated on June 19, 2019, September 2, 2020, and June 21, 2023.
I followed the recipe, it was easy and delicious! Thanks!
I made today and after reading the reviews I think 1/2 butter stirred in the cakes part and the other on bottom of pan. It separated. So we shall see if it soaks into it all. Smells good. Would post pic but don’t see that option and most of blackberries were still on top. Made in 13/9 pan. I guess what matters is the taste. Thanks for recipe.
Hi Karen! In case it helps for future reference, there are step-by-step photos in the post plus a video. But it sounds like your cobbler looked exactly as it should have going into the oven! 🙂 When the recipe is made as directed, the melted butter does get pushed up the sides of the pan and some of it spills over the top of the batter, creating golden edges later. And yes, the berries are initially on top but sink into the cake as it bakes. Hope you enjoyed your blackberry cobbler once it was done!
I found this receipt, and tried it. It was the easiest one I’ve ever found. It turned out so good and I got several raves about it . I’m making it again tomorrow for the 4th time this season. Our blackberries will definitely not go to waste!❤️
This recipe sucks!! Thank for wasting my time and money! I knew the melted butter should have been mixed into the batter. Made cake a weird consistency!!
It is so easy & delicious, can it be frozen?
Yes! Bake as directed, cool, tightly cover with a double layer of freezer-thickness foil, and freeze for up to three months. When you're ready to enjoy your blackberry cobbler, thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat individual servings in the microwave, or you can cover the whole dish with foil and pop in a 350°F oven until just heated through.
Great cobbler! Hubby picked the berries and asked for a cobbler. I was frustrated by the list of ingredients however. It is much easier to follow a recipe when ingredients are in order of use, this recipe lists butter fourth and it is actually the last in in the instructions.
Hi Lucy! I'm so glad you enjoyed this cobbler! Thanks for bringing the order of the ingredients to my attention...I'm not sure how that happened. I just edited it so that butter is now listed last. Hope that helps! 🙂
I’ve made this two times now. The first time I followed the recipe to a T (except I microwaved the butter instead of melting it in the oven) and it turned out great. The second time I made it, instead of coating the bottom of the dish with the melted butter, I used Baker’s Joy and instead stirred the melted butter into my cobbler batter which I poured on top of the greased dish and then spooned in the berries and sauce on top. Honestly this made the cobbler taste and smell (and look) so much better. I also like my desserts extra sweet so I added a little more sugar to both the filling and the cobbler and yummy yummy stuff! Wonderful recipe that I’ll definitely use over and over again in the future! 😋
I’ve made this many times and love it! But I’m wondering if anyone has ever froze it?
I accidentally bought more blackberries than we could eat so I decided to make this blackberry cobbler. It was a huge hit with my family! It was easy to make and turned out so yummy.
Since it’s the beginning of blackberry season, I only had 2 cups of blackberries from our blackberry bushes, so I cut the recipe in half & baked the Cobbler in an 8” x 8” baking dish. It is delicious! My husband loves it & said it’s the best cobbler he ever had! He ate almost 1/2 of it, topped with vanilla ice cream, of course. When more berries are ripe, I plan to make another Blackberry Cobbler!
I love how easy this recipe is! The big bonus is that EVERYONE LOVED IT!
This was excellent! Husband and I were impressed. We think it's more of a breakfast option. I used frozen blackberries and I also used bisquick (lazy). I printed this out and will be making in the near future!
Samantha, this cobbler was perfectly amazing! I love blackberries so much and yes, this was definitely worth having for breakfast - maybe even lunch or dinner, too! 🙂
I loved the recipe but I added a tablespoon of cornstarch in the blackberries to thicken the sauce a little bit more and it was perfect!!
Love this cobbler. Last summer was the first time my blackberries really produced a
lot of fruit. I made the cobbler 4 or 5 times. PERFECT! Thanks!