You know what a pie is, right? Doesnt matter if its single crust, double crust or hand pie, pie is pretty easy to define. Weve shared some of our favorite pie recipes with you, along with our tips for making the perfect pie crust. But pie isnt the only game in town. We also have strong opinions on cobbler (definitely a good thing). If youre curious what the difference is with cobbler vs pie, weve got you covered.
A pie can sweet or savory; in fact, tomato pies are one of our favorite summer recipes and pot pies are always a welcome dinner dish. A pie can be topped with a crust, a topping of meringue, whipped cream, or a streusel topping. Occasionally, its folded over so that you can carry it around. You can also make a rustic pie, called a galette, where the bottom crust is folder part of the over, creating a rough flat crust around the edge of the pie.
So, if we know what a pie is, then what is the definition of a cobbler?
The biggest difference between a cobbler and a pie is the placement of the dough. Pies have, at a minimum, a bottom crust with the fruit placed on top, while a cobbler has the fruit on the bottom and a dolloped dough on top instead.
History of the Cobbler
From the beginning, it seems like cobblers were a way to easily use up extra fruit. They were considered everyday desserts, something that could be thrown together without much planning or work.
The first recorded recipe for a peach cobbler was printed in the 1839 cookbook The Kentucky Housewife written by Lettice Bryan. The recipe was for “a peach pot pie” and called for the peaches to be pared from the stone and placed in a baking dish with a large handful of brown sugar on top and plenty of water so as not to burn the peaches. A layer of pastry was placed on top. After baking, the dish was inverted so that the pastry was on the bottom and the peaches were placed evenly on the crust, then sugar was grated over the top of the fruit.
Some early cobbler recipes called for the peaches to be baked whole (pits and all) in a double crust, but in the late 1800s, cobblers were moving to the no bottom crust method, either in baking or serving. An 1889 edition of the Good Housekeeping magazine outlined the inverted crust method for a peach cobbler, but on the same page, a recipe for a berry cobbler called for using a deep dish with no under crust.
Cobbler vs. Pie: The Definition of a Dessert
The defining difference between cobbler vs. pie really comes down to the crust (or lack thereof). A pie, whether sweet or savory, always has a bottom crust, while a cobbler doesnt.
A cobbler is a baked fruit dessert without a bottom crust and the top crust is a kind of biscuit dough instead of a traditional pastry or pie dough. While almost all fruit pies need some kind of pie pan, you can bake a cobbler in any kind of baking dish, using almost any kind of fruit.
Peach Cobbler | Peach Cobbler Recipe
FAQ
What is the difference between cobbler and pie?
What makes a cobbler a cobbler?
What’s the difference between peach cobbler?
What is cobbler crust made of?
What is the difference between Peach Pie and cobbler?
The main difference between pie and cobbler is not so much in the ingredients, but rather the structure. Peach Pie is made with a bottom crust filled with a fruit filling, then sometimes topped with another crust. Cobbler has no bottom crust and instead is made up of a peach filling topped off with a thicker, biscuit-like topping.
Do you peel Peaches in a cobbler?
Leave those peaches unpeeled. Keeping those beautiful skins on gives the cooked cobbler a gorgeous, deep peachy-pink hue and even more depth of flavor. Plus, unlike other cobbler or pie fruit with tougher skins, like apples, peach skins melt away into the cobbler filling. Unlike many peach pie or cobbler recipes, I do not peel the peaches. Ever.
How do you make a peach cobbler pie?
Add the milk and egg mixture, and stir with your fingers and knead very lightly until just combined into a sticky, shaggy mass. Pour the peach cobbler filling from the bowl into the pie shell and bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Pull the peaches from the oven. Drop large pieces of biscuit all over the top of the peaches. Sprinkle with sugar.
What is a classic peach cobbler?
From up North: Classic Peach Cobbler, vanilla-scented sliced peaches baked under a baking powder biscuit crust. Classic accompaniment: vanilla ice cream. ★★★★★ “Oh my good golly gosh, this cobbler is delicious. I used brown sugar for the filling and it turned out perfectly.