My unique Southern style blueberry cobbler is topped with fluffy sweet cornbread biscuits that puff and expand over the hot bubbling berries for the best summer dessert EVER!
You know I love to deliver unique desserts that have a little wow factor, and this homey summer dessert does just that. The crunchy sweet cornbread biscuits surrounded by all those juicy berries is irresistible and it takes classic blueberry cobbler, one of the most iconic summer desserts, up a notch.
I already know that cornbread and blueberries are a match made in heaven (see my Blueberry Cornbread) and that old fashioned cobblers (like my Easy Peach Cobbler) are ripe for creative twists. So I had no doubts that this blueberry cobbler would be a smash hit.
blueberry cobbler with sweet cornbread biscuits ingredients
- blueberries
- I use fresh if possible, but frozen will work too.
- sugar
- sugar not only sweetens the berries, but brings out their flavor.
- lemon juice
- lemon juice brightens the flavor of the berries.
- cornstarch
- this is essential for thickening all the juice the blueberries will release. Remember cornstarch needs to get to the boiling stage before it activates, so make sure your berry filling is bubbling throughout before you pull it out of the oven.
- vanilla extract
- flour
- yellow cornmeal
- I think yellow is the way to go here, it has a pretty color and a stronger, more pronounced corn flavor, but you can also use white cornmeal.
- baking soda, baking powder and salt
- cold butter
- buttermilk
- helps make a tender, fluffy corn biscuit topping.
what’s the deal with blueberries?
Commercial blueberries don’t taste like blueberries anymore, they can be utterly flavorless and they can ruin a perfectly good blueberry cobbler.
Commercially grown blueberries are often bred for size, appearance, and shelf life rather than flavor so I caution you to taste your berries before you commit them to any recipe. Ok, rant over. But taste your berries! If you can’t find good blueberries you can make this cobbler with peaches, cherries, blackberries, apricots, etc.
Frozen blueberries can sometimes be more flavorful than fresh blueberries because they’re picked at peak ripeness, so feel free to use them.
how I boost blueberry flavor in this cobbler
If you’re making this in summer with good berries you won’t have any issues with flavor. But off season berries usually need a little help. To insure great berry flavor in this recipe I’ve taken several steps:
- Sugar compensates for the lack of sweetness in some berries. If your berries are sweet and full of flavor you can reduce the sugar.
- I add lemon juice to bring a tart tang to the filling. Lemon juice, like sugar, brings out the flavor of fruits.
- I add vanilla extract, which adds a nice extra layer of flavor to the filling.
sweet cornbread biscuits make the best cobbler topping!
These soft sweet cornmeal infused biscuits are the perfect topping for fruit cobbler. I know how delicious cornmeal biscuits can be, I’ve been making them for years:
Cornmeal adds texture and flavor to this dessert topping, and a sprinkle of sugar over the top bakes up to a great sweet crunch. I may use this for all my fruit cobblers this year. I think it would be especially great on a Peach Cobbler.
the size of your cobbles is up to you!
This recipe makes a soft moist cornbread biscuit dough. You can pat out your dough and cut with a small biscuit cutter, or use a scoop to portion out the dough on top of your blueberry cobbler.
You can use small mounds, or larger ones. Just keep in mind that if you use larger ones you’ll need extra baking time to make sure they get cooked through.
blueberry cobbler faqs
Yes, frozen berries are convenient and can be a cheaper alternative to fresh. I would defrost and drain off any excess liquid if there is a lot.
You can used mixed berries, and I think peaches would be a good choice in this recipe, or maybe strawberry/rhubarb. You can mix blueberries with peaches or nectarines. Cherries would be a great choice, I’d recommend my Cherry Pie Filling Recipe for the filling. All these alternatives would go well with the cornmeal biscuit topping.
I don’t recommend that because the surface area is smaller and the cobbler will not cook as well. You could use a 10 inch cake pan or even a 10 inch cast iron skillet.
The cobbler topping is best assembled just before baking, but you can prep the filling up to a day ahead. I’d bring the berries to room temp before baking.
Yes, substitute a gf baking mix for the all purpose flour. Cornmeal and cornstarch are already gluten free. if you need to avoid gluten due to celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, itโs important to ensure that the cornmeal and cornstarch are specifically labeled as gluten-free.
Yes, you’ll need to use vegan butter or vegetable shortening for the butter, and perhaps make your own vegan buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of lemon juice to plant based milk like almond milk. You might also use a plant based yogurt.
Yes, use your favorite alternative sweetener. I recommend a powdered or granulated sweetener for the biscuits.
love blueberry desserts?
Blueberry cobbler is just one of many on my site!
Blueberry Cobbler
Equipment
- 9×9 square baking pan
Ingredients
blueberry filling
- 6-7 cups blueberries
- 1 cup confectioner's sugar
- 3 Tbsp cornstarch
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste or extract
cobbler topping
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1/2 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling later
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 8 Tbsp butter, cold and cut in pieces.
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, cold
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F.
- Toss blueberries with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and vanilla. Turn into 9×9 baking pan and set aside.
- I make my cobbler topping in my food processor. Load the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into the bowl and pulse until everything is well combined.
- Add the pieces of cold butter and pulse/process until no lumps of butter remain. This will take less than 30 seconds. Note: to pulse/process just start by pulsing the machine several times to get the butter broken up and then process briefly until the mixture is of a uniform crumbly texture.
- Add the buttermilk and process until the dough comes together. This will take less than 30 seconds. It should be a soft wet dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured board. If it is too wet you can add a bit of flour. Use a small or medium ice cream or cookie scoop to portion out mounds of dough and add to the top of the blueberries. You can do 9 larger mounds or up to 16 smaller mounds, it's really up to you. Sprinkle the biscuits with sugar, I use about a tablespoon or so.
- Bake for about 40 minutes or until the cobbler topping is golden and the berries are bubbling throughout. Check underneath the biscuits to make sure there is no wet batter remaining. The exact time will depend on your pan, your oven, and the size of your biscuits.
- Let your cobbler rest for about 20 minutes, before serving warm with scoops of vanilla ice cream. The resting period will allow the juices to thicken up.
- Leftovers can be wrapped in foil and stored on the counter overnight.
OMGOSH…this blueberry cobbler is easy to make and absolutely delicious, I made it the other day for my family and they loved it
I have been craving blueberry cobbler lately, and I’m so excited to make this recipe! Looks perfect!
What an interesting blueberry cobbler recipe, we love cornbread. I bookmarked to make later this week!
As a fellow baker, I have to say this Blueberry Cobbler recipe is wonderful! The cobbler was perfectly sweet, and the blueberries were deliciously juicy. We loved it, thank you!
It’s officially blueberry season here so this is a great way to use up any leftover blueberries.
Delicious! Absolutely packed full of blueberry flavour. I loved it, thanks so much