Made from just 9 ingredients, this easy cherry cobbler is one of the simplest desserts you could make with fresh cherries. Pit and halve cherries, whisk together a batter, and bake—it really is that easy. When cherries aren’t in season, you can use frozen. Enjoy warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream—dessert is served!
Now don’t get me wrong, I love homemade cherry pie, but for most of us it is a special-occasion dessert, because it takes a good while to make (and cool) before you can dive in. If you like to make the most of fresh cherry season while it lasts, this quick and easy cherry dessert recipe is the one that you will make on repeat.
Cobbler, crisp, and crumble recipes are wonderfully versatile and a great way to enjoy ripe fruits and berries. I have several dessert recipes on my website in this category, including peach cobbler and berry cobbler, both of which have a biscuit-style topping.
But when we were developing this cherry cobbler recipe, team member Beth introduced me to the way her grandmother used to make cobbler with the fruits and berries her grandfather grew in his garden, and I absolutely fell in love with this batter-based, rise-to-the-top style of fruit cobbler.
It’s almost unfair how something so delicious can be so easy. It’s even easier than my apple cobbler, which also uses a batter-style topping.
Pitting fresh cherries can be a tedious—and finger-staining—task, so if you want to save time and prep work, pick up a cherry pitter. And, if you really want to save time, here’s a 7-cherry-at-a-time cherry pitter. I just got this and it’s AWESOME. If you’re anything like me, you don’t like stuffing your kitchen drawers with endless gizmos and gadgets, but a cherry pitter is most definitely an exception. I don’t bake with cherries all the time, but when I do, I’m VERY thankful I have a pitter!
It’s also a timesaver if you’re baking bourbon cherry crisp or my cake-like cherry buckle.
After pitting and halving your cherries, it’s just a few easy steps to get to cherry cobbler first-bite bliss!
Melt the butter in the baking dish in the preheated oven, then whisk together the batter. Spread cherries on top of melted butter, then pour the batter over them:
The batter is a little thinner than pancake batter.
And, bake! I like to sprinkle the top with coarse sugar before baking for a little extra sparkle and sweet crunch on the surface, but this is optional.
The best pan to use for this cobbler is a 2.5-quart baking dish, such as a 9-inch square baking pan, 10-inch cast iron skillet, or a 10-inch pie dish or cake pan. Glass, metal, or ceramic are all fine.
I don’t know who coined the phrase “easy as pie,” but it really should be “easy as cobbler!” I still can’t believe how something this tasty could come together with so little effort. It’s a “piece of cake”… nope, that phrase should be about this cobbler, too. LOL.
Made from just 9 ingredients, this cherry cobbler is one of the easiest desserts you could make with fresh cherries. See Notes if using frozen cherries or if you want to try other fruits. Enjoy warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
