Cranberry apple cobbler is a festive twist on classic apple cobbler! Tart cranberries and sweet apples bake together under a golden, cookie-like cobbler topping for a simple holiday dessert that feels extra special.
Cranberry apple cobbler is a delicious way to bring two seasonal fruits together in one warm and comforting dessert. The combination of tart fresh cranberries and sweet baking apples makes the filling bright, flavorful, and perfectly balanced. As the fruit bakes, it turns soft and bubbly underneath a golden, cookie-like cobbler topping.
This recipe is easy to make and doesn’t require any special equipment or complicated steps. Everything comes together quickly, and the result is a dessert that tastes like something you’d serve at a holiday gatherings like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner — without any of the fuss.
Serve the cobbler warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream to really highlight the sweet-tart flavors. Once you try it, you may find yourself making it on repeat throughout the holiday season.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Apples: It’s important to use baking apples so that they don’t bake down to mush. Granny Smith and Honeycrisp are two common varieties of baking apple. It’s also important to thinly slice the apples so that they cook down and get tender.
- Cranberries: I’ve only used fresh cranberries in this recipe. Dried cranberries won’t work.
- Sugar: The amount of sugar you choose to use for the filling will depend on how sweet you like your desserts and the type of apple you use. If you use a sweeter baker apple, like a Honeycrisp, you may want to use slightly less sugar.
- Flour: To properly measure the flour either weigh it or sift or stir to break it up, lightly spoon into a measuring cup, and level. Avoid packing the flour as that will give you heavy, dry topping.
- Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a homemade buttermilk substitute.
How to make cranberry apple cobbler
Here you’ll find instructions and step-by-step photos showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe, including ingredients, is given below.
Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease a 2 quart baking dish (or 9×9-inch baking dish); set aside.
Step 2: For the filling, stir together apples, cranberries, sugar, orange juice, flour, and orange zest in a medium bowl. Set aside while you prepare the topping.
Step 3: For the topping, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate medium bowl.
Step 4: Cut butter into flour mixture until it forms large crumbs.
Step 5: Stir buttermilk into crumbs to form dough.
Step 6: Drop dough evenly over filling, spreading slightly if necessary. The dough will spread a little as it bakes.
Step 7: Sprinkle sugar over dough.
Step 8: Place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet.
Step 9: Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown.
Recipe Tips!
- Extra spice: For a little extra spice flavor, add 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the cobbler topping.
- Prep ahead: You can prep the cranberry apple filling and freeze for up to 1 month ahead of time.
- Serving suggestions: I like to serve the cobbler topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of homemade whipped cream.
Storage
Store any leftover cranberry apple cobbler in an airtight container at room temperature. It will keep for 2-3 days when properly stored.
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Cranberry Apple Cobbler
Ingredients
Filling
- 5 cups peeled and cored baking apples thinly sliced
- 2 cups fresh cranberries rinsed
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
Topping
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons cold salted butter in small cubes
- 1 ⅓ cups buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon raw sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Lightly grease a 2 quart baking dish (or 9×9-inch baking dish); set aside.
- For the filling, stir together apples, cranberries, sugar, orange juice, flour, and orange zest in a medium bowl. Set aside while you prepare the topping.5 cups peeled and cored baking apples, 2 cups fresh cranberries, ⅔ cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice, 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon orange zest
- For the topping, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate medium bowl.2 cups all-purpose flour, ⅔ cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Cut butter into flour mixture until it forms large crumbs.6 tablespoons cold salted butter
- Stir buttermilk into crumbs to form dough.1 ⅓ cups buttermilk
- Drop dough evenly over filling, spreading slightly if necessary. The dough will spread a little as it bakes.
- Sprinkle sugar over dough.1 tablespoon raw sugar
- Place the dish on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake for about 30-40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown.
Notes
- Apples: It’s important to use baking apples so that they don’t bake down to mush. Granny Smith and Honeycrisp are two common varieties of baking apple. It’s also important to thinly slice the apples so that they cook down and get tender.
- Cranberries: I’ve only used fresh cranberries in this recipe. Dried cranberries won’t work.
- Sugar: The amount of sugar you choose to use for the filling will depend on how sweet you like your desserts and the type of apple you use. If you use a sweeter baker apple, like a Honeycrisp, you may want to use slightly less sugar.
- Flour: To properly measure the flour either weigh it or sift or stir to break it up, lightly spoon into a measuring cup, and level. Avoid packing the flour as that will give you heavy, dry topping.
- Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a homemade buttermilk substitute.
- Nutrition values are estimates.
Nutrition
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