Nicely sweet and lightly lemony, this blueberry cobbler is such a treat. Read on to learn the secret to making a cobbler with light, flaky, perfectly cooked (not dry) biscuits. Fruity and festive, this is a wonderful dessert to make for summer entertaining.

Bowls of blueberry cobbler with ice cream.

I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a cobbler I’ve eaten, but what I love about the Cook’s Illustrated recipe is this: the blueberries bake without a biscuit topping for 25 minutes or until they begin to bubble around the edges. At this point, you drop the buttermilk biscuits over the berries, then continue to cook the cobbler for 15 to 20 minutes more at a higher temperature.

The idea is that the blast of heat from the bubbling berries helps cook the underside of the biscuits, while the hotter temperature of the oven nicely browns the top. The result? An evenly cooked — not dry! — tender, golden biscuit.

It makes sense: when you make biscuits as biscuits, they never take more than 15 to 20 minutes. So baking biscuits for close to an hour, as many cobbler recipes suggest, can lead to a dry topping.

I find this cobbler to be perfect: light, flaky biscuits bobbing atop perfectly sweet, lightly lemony, stewy berries. Vanilla ice cream is a must.

How to Make Blueberry Cobbler, Step by Step

First, prepare your berries: place them in a deep 9-inch baking pan or a shallower 10- to 11-inch pan.

A pie plate filled with blueberries — step 1 for the blueberry cobbler recipe.

Toss them with lemon zest, sugar, and cornstarch.

Step 2 of blueberry cobbler recipe: coat berries with sugar and lemon zest.

Bake the berries for 25 minutes.

A pie plate with baked blueberries —step 3 of blueberry cobbler recipe.

Meanwhile, prepare the biscuit topping: Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar. Add cold, sliced butter and work it into the dry ingredients using the back of a fork.

Making the biscuit topping for the blueberry cobbler — a bowl of flour and butter; a liquid measure with buttermilk.

Add the buttermilk and stir until you have a cohesive mass. Shape the mass into a log, then cut into 8 pieces.

A board with biscuit dough cut into portions.

Drop the biscuit topping over the hot berries, brush with butter, sprinkle with sugar, then return to the oven and cook until the biscuits are evenly golden brown.

A pie plate with biscuit topping added to baked blueberries — step 4 of blueberry cobbler recipe.
A pie plate filled with finished, just-baked blueberry cobbler.

Let cool briefly, then serve with vanilla ice cream.

A bowl of blueberry cobbler with ice cream.
A close-up shot of a bowl of blueberry cobbler with ice cream.
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A bowl of blueberry cobbler with ice cream and a spoon.

Lemon Blueberry Cobbler

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Description

Nicely sweet and lightly lemony, this blueberry cobbler is such a treat. The secret to making a cobbler with light, flaky, perfectly cooked (not dry) biscuits? Cook the berries alone first; then top with the biscuit topping and continue baking until done. Fruity and festive, this is a wonderful dessert to make for summer entertaining.

This recipe has been adapted from Cook’s Illustrated. 

A few notes:

Sugar: If you’ve made this before and loved it, make it with 100 grams of sugar in the filling. I have been reducing the sugar in many of my berry desserts, because it often feels like too much. Recently I made this with 50 grams of sugar in the filling, and I found it to be plenty sweet. 

Cornmeal: If you don’t have it, simply use 20 grams more flour. 

Pan Options: If you’d like to use a 9×13-inch pan, double the biscuit topping (without doubling the quantities of baking powder and baking soda).

9-inch pan: Make sure it’s at least 2-inches deep. 

10- to 11-inch pan: One-inch deep is fine. 

Ingredients

for the filling:

  • 1/4  (50 grams) to 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar, see notes above
  • 1 lemon
  • 6 cups (850 grams) fresh blueberries, rinsed and picked over
  • 1 tablespoon (8 grams) cornstarch
  • Pinch salt

for the biscuit topping:

  • 1 cup (128 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons (20 grams) stone ground cornmeal, see notes above
  • 1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar
  • 2 teaspoons (8 grams) baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon (1.5 grams) baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) Diamond Crystal kosher salt
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted or salted butter, cubed
  • 1/3 cup (88 grams) buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon (5 grams) vanilla extract

for finishing: 

  • 2 teaspoons milk for brushing
  • 2 teaspoons turbinado sugar (or other) for sprinkling

for serving:

  • vanilla ice cream or lightly sweetened whipped cream

Instructions

  1. Prepare the oven: Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Prepare the filling: Place the sugar in a large bowl. Zest the lemon into the sugar and use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar — this releases the oils in the zest and makes the lemon flavor more pronounced. Add the berries, cornstarch, pinch of salt, and juice of half of the lemon (about 1.5 tablespoons). Using your hands, toss to combine. 
  3. Bake the filling: Transfer the berry mixture to a 9- or 10-inch pie plate or other similar vessel (see notes above), place pan on a rimmed baking sheet (not necessary if using 9×13-inch pan) lined with parchment paper, and bake until the filling is hot and bubbling around the edges, about 25 minutes.
  4. Make the biscuit topping: Meanwhile, whisk the flour, cornmeal, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl to combine. Cut the butter into small pieces and use the back of a fork to work it into the dry ingredients. If necessary, use your fingers to work the butter into smaller pieces. Five minutes before the berries come out of the oven, add the buttermilk and vanilla to the flour mixture and mix to combine. Pat the mixture into a ball or a rectangle and roughly divide into 7 equal pieces.  
  5. Finish the cobbler: Remove the berries from the oven; increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Drop the pieces of biscuit dough on the hot berry filling, spacing them about a 1/2 inch apart. Brush biscuits with milk and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until the filling is bubbling and the biscuits are golden brown on top and cooked through, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool the cobbler on a wire rack 20 minutes (or less) and serve.
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 40 minutes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American