I am all about finding the perfect holiday dessert – whether that is a delicious pumpkin pie for a Thanksgiving dessert or a latticed crust apple pie that sings autumn. But I ran across a recipe on King Arthur Baking’s website for Apple Cobbler, and I fell in love with the idea of making it repeatedly while fall apples are still making me smile. In fact, this apple cobbler might not only become my favorite holiday dessert, but I can also see myself grabbing it for a snack or even a thoroughly indulgent breakfast.
Note: I made some variations to the original recipe, including lowering the amount of sugar and adding more lemon juice. For the original Sugar-Crusted Apple Cobbler King Arthur Baking recipe, click here.
Apple Cobbler Holiday Dessert Ingredients
4 Large Honeycrisp Apples (Note: peel them, core them, and slice them before you start, or you will be annoyed)
3 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
8 Tablespoons Softened Unsalted Butter
3/4 Cup Granulated White Sugar (with ¼ Cup Reserved for Topping)
½ Cup Plain Full Fat Yogurt
1 Cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
¼ Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
2 Tablespoons Water
Recipe Steps
Step 1 Peel, core, and slice your apples. Try to keep your slices to around ¼ inch in thickness. If your thickness varies too much, the apples will cook differently. But don’t stress about this.
Note: This is my least favorite task of any apple dish. I highly recommend starting an old episode of Top Chef or Bake Off as background to the task.
Step 2 Sprinkle the apples with the lemon juice. Be sure that the apples on the bottom of your bowl also get tossed with the juice to give them a lovely brightness. Once they are coated with lemon juice, sprinkle the cinnamon over them. Make sure that the cinnamon can be found throughout.
Step 3 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 4 Grease an 8” square baking pan. Note: I love the look of using old-fashioned Pyrex baking dishes, but they will heat slower, and using them instead of a pan will alter your bake times.
Step 5 Place your sliced apples in layers in your prepared pan. You want the layers to be relatively even. Set the pan aside while you prep the topping.
Step 6 Cream the butter and ¼ cup of granulated sugar in your stand mixer. Beat them together until they are very smooth. Then add your yogurt, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pure vanilla extract to the bowl. Beat them all together until the batter is smooth again.
Note: It’s going to look pretty thick.
Step 7 Spoon the topping mixture over the apples that are layered in the pan. I used a knife to evenly spread the batter layer to the edges of the pan.
Step 8 Sprinkle the topping evenly with the reserve ¼ cup of sugar. It will look like a lot, but you definitely want an even coating.
Step 9 Drizzle (or use an atomizer) the water over the sugar topping so that it looks wet.
Step 10 Bake the cobbler for 40 minutes. This will vary depending on your elevation, so start checking it around 35 minutes. You’ll notice that the topping is getting golden brown and will look crispy.
Step 11 Remove the pan, let the cobbler cool, and set it on a counter rack for about 30 minutes. You will see some cracking of the topping. That’s completely normal.
Step 12 Serve! This is definitely a holiday dessert that is best served warm. I prefer popping it back into the oven to reheat for about 10 minutes, but you can definitely put it into the microwave if you need to.
For more holiday dessert ideas, visit us here.
