Life
11 Cobbler, Crisp, and Crumble Recipes and What the Hell Is the Difference Anyway?
There are some mysteries that keep us up at night. For instance, who built Stonehenge? Is it really a giant xylophone? And what about those pretty summer cobblers? Aren’t they just pies short on crust? Or wait, is that a crumble? A crisp? And then, we begin to wonder: what the hell is the difference, anyway?
We’ll never know for sure about Stonehenge — but since the Fourth of July is right around the corner, you need to figure out your dessert situation, fast. Luckily, we’ve put together your essential primer on treats of the fruit-plus-crispy-topping variety. Read on, and then master every kind — with a buckle and a sbriciolata thrown in for good measure. Let’s get baking.
Image: Half Baked Harvest
Cobblers: Strawberry
Meet the cobbler. You’ve seen a lot of things masquerading as one — but let us reassure you, there is only one kind of cobbler, and that’s a pan of cooked fruit crowned with a biscuit-like topping. Easy peasy. How Sweet Eats has the scoop.
Image: How Sweet Eats
Cobblers: Microwave
Yes, you can make cobbler in the microwave. Domestic Fits whips up a crust of flour, sugar, baking soda, and butter — all the makings of cobbler’s signature topping, with half the work.
Image: Domestic Fits
Cobblers: Tomato
Surprise! Cobbler doesn’t have to be strictly sweet — especially when you have fresh, seasonal tomatoes on hand. Little Ferraro Kitchen tops hers with rosemary gruyere biscuits.
Image: The Little Ferraro Kitchen
Cobblers: Chicken Casserole
It’s casserole. It’s cobbler. It’s comfort food in a skillet, courtesy of A Cozy Kitchen.
Image: A Cozy Kitchen
Crisps: Peach
Here’s where things get tricky. Wars have been fought and family feuds ignited over the distinction between a crisp and a crumble. But if Mark Bitmman says crisps include rolled oats, we’re inclined to believe him. How Sweet Eats has a basil-infused peach crisp to kick off your summer.
Image: How Sweet Eats
Crisps: Triple Berry Kahlua
Half Baked Harvest gets generous with her crisp topping — because thrice the berry means your crust will be doing some serious legwork. In case you were on the fence about this recipe, there’s Kahlua involved. You’re welcome.
Image: Half Baked Harvest
Crisps: Quince Sbriciolata
Don’t hate us. We’re throwing you a sbriciolata — which is fancy Italian-speak for a crisp. Our friends at Tucker whip theirs up with quince, but feel free to sub whatever fruit’s in season.
Image: Tucker
Wildcard: Peach Buckle
Oh, did we mention there was such a thing as a buckle? Cake-like with a streusel topping, it’s the odd dessert out. Kirbie’s Cravings has the recipe.
Image: Kirbie’s Cravings
Crumbles: Rhubarb Curd
Relax. We’re back to the usual suspects — namely, the crumble, which is exactly what it sounds like: fruit, with stuff crumbled on top. Hummingbird High sprinkles pie crust over her rhubarb curd.
Image: Hummingbird High
Crumbles: Cherry Nectarine
The daredevils at Wandercrush add oats (the horror!) to their crumble. But because it’s filled with juicy cherries and bright nectarine, we think we can forgive them.
Image: Wandercrush
Crumbles: Microwave
All this talk of crusts and crumbly things got you down? Take a deep breath and make this five-minute microwave dessert for one. You can call it whatever you like — it’ll still be good. Thanks, Averie Cooks!
Image: Averie Cooks
