Winter-Spiced Plum Cobbler Recipe

Though plums are technically in-season during late summer, that doesn't mean that the oft-overlooked fruit can't make a wintertime appearance. Recipe developer Jessica Morone proves that plums have a welcome space in the cold-weather dessert sphere with this winter-spiced plum cobbler recipe, which features both ginger and allspice for that seasonal warmth. "Cobblers feel like more of a summer dessert when all the fruit is fresh and in season. With this recipe, you can take a cobbler into the winter season and make it a year-round dessert," Morone says. "The spices in this are what makes it feel wintry, since ginger and allspice are such warm spices."

Plums typically have a sweet-tart flavor to them, but this dessert naturally leans more toward the sweet profile, making this fruit cobbler a worthy contender alongside popular variations like peach, cherry, or blueberry. And, despite being a completely from-scratch dessert, you can whip up the entire cobbler in less than an hour. It works for casual weeknights and elegant dinner parties alike.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Spoon the mixture into a 9- or 10-inch cast iron skillet. Set aside.

Add the cold butter to the food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand.

Add the milk to the food processor and pulse until just combined.

Use a spoon or a cookie scoop to drop dough on top of the plum mixture.

Sprinkle the raw sugar over the dough.

Serve warm, topped with ice cream, if desired.

With a dessert as simple as cobbler, you want to be careful not to stray too far from the original, tried-and-true formula. There are plenty of ways to make small changes to a cobbler, such as omitting or adding a spice and incorporating nuts for added texture. Should you want to customize this cobbler on a larger scale, however, there is room for experimentation. The easiest way to switch things up is to (shockingly!) swap out the leading act. "While this is a recipe for plum cobbler, you could swap in any canned fruit that you want," Morone says. That means that all of you peach cobbler purists can still enjoy this winter-spiced recipe sans plums.

You may also notice that Morone uses a cast-iron skillet to make this cobbler, but if you don't have the oven-safe cookware in your kitchen, you can make an equipment swap and still enjoy this plum cobbler. "If you don't have a cast iron skillet, and since most regular skillets aren't oven-safe, I would suggest using just a regular baking pan. 8x8 or 9x9 would work for this," Morone says.