100 Techniques
From filling fixes to topping tips, you'll master these classic desserts in no time.
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Published Sept. 23, 2023.
This is Technique #39 from our 100 Techniques Every Home Cook Can Master.
Each technique is broken into three sections: why it works, key steps, and recipes that use it. Learn these recipe building blocks and you'll be set up for a lifetime of cooking success.
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- • Why This Technique Works
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- • Recipes That Use This Technique
Cobblers and crisps made from juicy, impeccably ripe seasonal fruit are among our favorite desserts. They’re often considered “easy,” but anyone who’s ever made one has probably had at least one disappointingly soggy experience.
Typically that wonderfully fresh fruit sheds all its juices in the oven, leaving the filling soupy, the fruit mushy, and the topping anything but crisp. Plopping any old raw topping onto room-temperature fruit may be easy, but it will likely lead to a soggy mess.
To achieve a cohesive filling with concentrated fruit flavor and a crisp topping, you'll need to master a few easy techniques.
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Cook Off Excess Liquid
To combat a soupy filling, some recipes call for drawing out moisture by sprinkling the fruit with sugar and letting it drain in a colander. But loads of flavor drains away with all that juice.
Instead, to thicken fruit without losing any flavor, turn to a skillet.
Sautéing fruit to release their juices and then cooking off the liquid results in buttery-sweet fruit with concentrated flavor. For particularly juicy fruit such as peaches, set aside some uncooked fruit and add it to the filling just before baking to ensure a fresh texture. As a bonus, stirring in dried fruit such as cranberries to a crisp before baking adds another layer of texture—they hydrate by absorbing some of the remaining juice from the fresh berries.
Add The Right Thickener
Cooking off the liquid is a great first step, but to achieve a cohesive filling, adding a thickener is key. Sprinkling in some flour is standard in most recipes, but we found that it leaves a starchy taste. Instead, reach for cornstarch or tapioca. Adding a modest, balanced amount of the right thickener proves invaluable for great texture.
Topping Tips
We typically love buttermilk biscuits as a cobbler topping, but when made using the usual method of cutting up cold butter to blend in, they fall to pieces on the hot filling. Switching to melted butter makes for sturdier biscuits that remain intact and don’t turn gummy when baked on top of the fruit.
For a fruit-crisp topping that stays crisp and doesn’t sink, keeping it moist and cohesive (rather than powdery and crumbly) is key, so process the topping ingredients in a food processor and pinch the resulting buttery mixture together into sturdy, peanut-size clumps.
Step by Step: How to Make Cobbler Filling
Choose your fruit and follow these simple steps for making juicy, never watery, filling.
Step 1: Prepare Fruit
Prepare fruit by peeling, removing pit or core, and cutting into pieces.
Step 2: Cook Some of Your Fruit
For very juicy fruit, such as peaches, set some fruit aside to add later. Cook remaining fruit in skillet with butter and sugar, covered if directed, to release juices.
Step 3: Caramelize Some of Your Fruit
Uncover and simmer until juices evaporate and fruit begins to caramelize.
Step 4: Stir in Remaining Uncooked Fruit
Add reserved uncooked fruit to skillet and cook until heated through.
Step 5: Add Thickener
Whisk lemon juice with a small amount of cornstarch and stir into filling.
Watch Executive Editor Elle Simone Scott demonstrate how to make a Pear Crisp.
Recipes That Use This Technique
Now that you've learned the science behind what makes the perfect cobbler or crisp, try it yourself with one of these recipes.
Ready to learn another technique? Choose from our list of 100 Techniques Every Home Cook Can Master.
