Food and Recipes Fruits Peach 38 Peach Cobblers, Cakes, And Pies To Delight This Summer By Patricia S York Patricia S York Patricia was the assistant food editor at Southern Living and worked with the Southern Living food team from 2006-2022. She contributed to articles about food, gardening, and pets. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on January 9, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Pam Lolley; Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Torie Cox The peaches are coming in folks, so now is the time to head to your local farmers' market and choose a basket of what the South is known for: sweet, juicy peaches. Whether you bake up a cobbler or a pound cake, put up some preserves, or prepare them for freezing, you don't want to miss out on peach season in the South. We've collected the best recipes for putting the season's bounty to use. Peach desserts like make-ahead trifle or a dump-and-go cake are going to be on the menu all summer long. Store the guides for Peach Fried Pies, Creamy Peach Icebox Cake, and Peach Streusel Coffee Cake at the top of your recipe box to always have a scrumptious stone fruit dessert recipe on hand. Take a look through this collection to find a few new favorites to add to your repertoire. We know it's tempting not to gobble up your juicy, fresh peaches raw as soon as they ripen, but these desserts are worth the wait. 01 of 38 Peach-Bourbon Upside-Down Bundt Cake Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Lindsey Lower; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Give your cast iron skillet a rest and use your Bundt pan to bake this sweet and moist upside-down cake. If you don't have fresh peaches, one 15-ounce can of sliced peaches will work in a pinch. Drain and gently pat dry before using. 02 of 38 Peach-Raspberry Buckle Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Mary Clayton Carl Jones We swap blueberries for peaches and raspberries in this crumb-like cake, which became popular in the 1960s after a buckle recipe first appeared in Elsie Masterton's 1959 Blueberry Hill Cookbook. For this variation, half of the fruit is folded into the batter, which is poured into the pan, and then the remaining fruit is arranged on top of the batter. The batter puffs up as it bakes, then collapses, or "buckles," around jammy pockets of fruit. 03 of 38 Peach Bread Pudding with Bourbon Caramel Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Bread pudding isn't just for cold weather months. Filled with fresh, summertime peaches and topped with a boozy caramel sauce, this bread pudding is a sweet ending to any meal. The spiked caramel sauce makes this bread pudding truly spectacular. Resist the urge to stir the caramel as it cooks, and watch it closely. Once it starts to brown, it can easily turn too dark and become bitter. 04 of 38 Pecan-Peach Cobbler Beth Dreiling Hontzas Two Southern favorites—pecans and peaches—makes an irresistible summer cobbler. This cobbler has an extra layer of crust, so you are guaranteed a bit of sweet pastry with every bite. The toasted pecans kneaded into the pie crust add nutty flavor and crunch. Bake this for your next church potluck, family gathering, or birthday celebration—it promises to be a winner. 05 of 38 Peach Icebox Cake Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Swap your oven for your refrigerator for this assemble-and-chill dessert when the weather’s too hot for baking. A yogurt, mascarpone, and heavy cream mixture is layered with graham crackers and juicy peaches. Once assembled, chill for 4 to 12 hours before serving. 06 of 38 Fresh Peach Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusel Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox If you like a heavy crumb topping on your coffee cake, you'll love this recipe. Ideal for ladies luncheons, brunches or afternoon snacks, this coffee cake is scented with fragrant cinnamon and cardamom, perfect partners for the sweet, juicy peaches that take center stage in this recipe. With 10 minutes of hands-on time and 1 hour to bake, this dessert is easy to make any day of the week. 07 of 38 Easy Peach Cobbler Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Cobblers are much easier than pies; the crusts or toppings are simplified and it doesn't take nearly as much time. This recipe comes from peach retailers Jessica and Stephen Rose of The Peach Truck. It's a homey, six-ingredient recipe that comes together in just 10 minutes, and with no need to fuss over fitting a pastry crust into a pan. 08 of 38 Peach Fried Pies Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Large, Southern-style canned biscuits make easy work of these irresistible hand pies with a spiced, jammy filling. Fry the pies in a Dutch oven 4 to 5 minutes per side. Wrap in wax paper for a picnic or serve immediately topped with whipped cream for a warm, crispy, peachy dessert. 09 of 38 Blackberry-Peach Cobbler with Praline-Pecan Streusel Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Lydia Degaris Pursell Is there anything better than a fresh peach cobbler topped with ice cream? Best make that call after you taste this one with blackberries and our mascarpone cream. Pull this dessert together easily by crumbling streusel over fruit filling and baking 35 minutes in a 9-inch square pan. 10 of 38 Blackberry-Peach Cobbler Bars Hector Sanchez; Styling: Heather Chadduck Toffee-glazed pecan pieces add a streusel-like crunch to the tops of these bars. After the cobbler is completely cool, cut into 10 to 12 bars. This recipe, the perfect "bake-and-take" dessert, will be a welcome treat at your next BBQ. 11 of 38 Patchwork Cobbler Hector Sanchez What's better than one summer fruit? Indulging in three of them. Topped with squares of sugar-crusted pastry, this cobbler shows off fresh peaches, plums, and blueberries. 12 of 38 Instant Pot Peach Cobbler Photographer and props: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall Slow-cooked flavor with an 8-minute prep time is exactly what we're looking for with a no-fuss dessert. Peach cobbler is obligatory at any Southern summer gathering, and this recipe delivers in a bind. The Instant Pot cooks the peaches soft, not mushy, and the fluffy cobbler topping gets crisped up by quickly broiling at the end. 13 of 38 Peach Cobbler Pound Cake Photographer and props: Jennifer Causey Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall Brown sugar gives this pound cake its caramel hue. You can use either fresh or frozen peaches for this warm and spicy rendition of a cobbler with juicy pockets of fruit. Serve with a caramel drizzle, ice cream, whipped cream, or a good cup of coffee. 14 of 38 Peach Shortcake Trifle Pam Lolley; Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Torie Cox Want to prep ahead? Feel free to bake and freeze the cake layer until you are ready to build your trifle. Layers of juicy peaches, mascarpone, and vanilla cake taste as good as they look. 15 of 38 Peach Cobbler Cheesecake Photography and Styling: Sarah Epperson There are a few different layers to this recipe (crust, filling, crumble, and topping), but the effort will be well worth it once that first bite hits your tastebuds. You can count on our Peach Cobbler Cheesecake as a show-stopping dessert for any summer event. Like a lot of cheesecake recipes, this one also bakes in a water bath, but instead of wrapping the pan in tin foil, snap on a slow cooker liner, an ingenious tip from Southern Living’s test kitchen we’ll be using again and again. 16 of 38 Peach Custard Pie Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch; Food Styling: Torie Cox Talk about a pretty pie. This stunner starts with homemade pie crust but you can opt for store-bought if you prefer. Pick firm but ripe peaches, if they are too soft and watery, it will affect how the custard sets. On a hot summer day, enjoy this creamy pie cooled or at room temperature. 17 of 38 Peach Cobbler Cake Photography: Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling: Margaret Monroe Dickey, Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hilegas Three layers separated by a sweetened mascarpone filling and sliced fresh peaches creates the centerpiece to your summertime meal. If you don’t serve immediately, you can make a day ahead 24 hours before slicing. Deceptively easy to make, this cake is designed to look impressive, and a forkful will only enhance the effect. 18 of 38 Peach-Plum Crumble Slab Pie Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen The freshest summer stone fruit is topped with a cinnamon-spiced crumble topping to make a delicious dessert that only asks 20 minutes of hands-on prep time. The crust par-bakes for 10 minutes with pie weights (or dried beans) to prevent it from puffing up. Don't even think about serving our Peach-Plum Crumble Slab Pie without a hefty scoop of vanilla ice cream. 19 of 38 Gluten-Free Peach Cobbler Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis We used gluten-free flour mix to whip up this peach cobbler. Our recipe developers recommend layering the ingredients in a hot skillet rather than stirring them together. With 15 minutes of prep time and 45 minutes of baking time, this cobbler comes together quickly and will please your gluten-free friends while your "no-substitutes" sticklers may never know the difference. 20 of 38 Creamy Peach Icebox Cake Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling; Kathleen Varner; Food Styling: Torie Cox This icebox cake has a little secret: It calls on frozen pound cakes and jarred peach preserves for maximum flavor and minimal effort. With just seven ingredients, the combination of chilly ice cream, sweet pound cake, and juicy peaches will be welcome on a hot day. Be sure to plan ahead for your next summer party because despite only asking 20 minutes of active preparation, this confection needs at least 8 hours in the freezer. 21 of 38 Peach Crisp Micah A. Leal There's nothing like a crisp for making quick work of pulling together a tasty-as-can-be dessert that plays off the season's bounty. Use ripe, juicy peaches that have a little give and are slightly wrinkled around the stem. This cinnamon-oat-topped treat takes the cake, and when dolloped with vanilla ice cream, pure heaven. 22 of 38 Peach Dump Cake Micah A. Leal The joy in a dump cake is that there is close to zero effort on your part, but with absolutely delicious results. This recipe calls for a few basic ingredients—including two shortcuts, canned peaches and yellow cake mix—and only 5 minutes of hands-on time. Serve this effortless dessert with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. 23 of 38 Stone Fruit Lattice Slab Pie Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen Peak through ornamental strips of tasty crust at the real cornerstone of this dessert: the fresh fruit. Firm, ripe peaches and nectarines, as well as whichever other stone fruits catch your eye, are heavenly in this easy slab pie that asks only 20 minutes of your active time. Assemble the slab by rolling out the dough, wrapping it around a rolling pin, and gently fitting it inside a 15- x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. 24 of 38 Fresh Peach Cobbler Photographer: Fred Hardy II, Food Stylist: Emily Nabors Hall, Props Stylist: Christina Brockman When it comes to delightful summer sweets, the strategy is simplicity. You're only nine ingredients and four steps away from scrumptious peach cobbler to star at any summer potluck or "just because" occasion. Soft, ripe peaches are best for this cobbler, and if it’s not peach season, substitute with your favorite seasonal fruit. 25 of 38 Gingered Peach Galette Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Rishon Hanners, Prop Stylist Audrey Davis We like to think of the galette as the pie's low maintenance cousin. When all you want is a homemade peach pie but you don't want to spend so much time in the kitchen, this Gingered Peach Galette recipe with only 15 minutes of hands-on time has got you covered. To assemble the galette, peaches are arranged on two refrigerated pie crusts that have been stacked, rolled, and chilled—a two inch border is folded around the fruit and then baked. 26 of 38 Peach Streusel Coffee Cake Southern Living Sometimes you just want cake for breakfast, and what better excuse than coffee cake? With homemade streusel warm and crumbly enough to outcompete an average coffee cake to begin with, this version is also enhanced by a peach cobbler batter. Enjoyed with a cup of coffee (or perhaps amaretto), this treat makes any time of day cake-time. 27 of 38 Mixed Stone Fruit Pie Darcy Lenz The quintessential summer pie starts with a homemade graham cracker crust. Alongside peaches, choose your stone fruit selections based on what looks good at your local farmers' market. The cream cheese, heavy cream, and condensed milk filling chills for 12 to 24 hours in the pie crust before the final step of spooning the stone fruit mixture on top. 28 of 38 Peach Divinity Icebox Pie Hector Sanchez This pie looks so divine that you'll hardly be able to resist having a taste straight away, but hold tight because this icebox dessert needs at least two hours in the freezer before it's ready for serving. Eggs, sugar, gelatin, peach preserves, and heavy cream creates the custard filling. A gingersnap crust beneath lots of fresh peaches and cream add to this convenient cake's appeal. 29 of 38 Peach Crumble Pie Jennifer Causey; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall If peaches are part of the equation, we want in, no questions asked. But, what truly sets this peach recipe apart from the pack is its streusel topping. Use fresh produce for this recipe during peach season, or whip up Peach Crumble Pie using frozen fruit later on. 30 of 38 Peach-and-Blackberry Crisp Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: Katelyn Hardwick Peaches and blackberries are a power duo in this crumbly crisp recipe, but you can swap out your blackberries for other berries that you have on hand, too. When your crisp first comes out of the oven, it may seem a tad watery, but don't fret—you're on the right track. Give this peach and berry cobbler some time to cool, set, and thicken before serving it hot or room temperature. 31 of 38 Peach Cake Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Rishon Hanners Pit, peel, and prepare three large peaches as the stars of this dense and delightful cake. Between the fresh fruit enhanced by cinnamon and pecans, and the rich coffee cake-like texture, this recipe will become an instant summertime classic in your household. This dessert is easily enjoyed for breakfast, brunch, or as a snack too. 32 of 38 Freezer Peach Pie Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Imagine having "fresh" peach pie in the middle of winter. Try this genius freezing method to get your pie fix anytime. Simply mix the pie filling, pour it into an aluminum foil lined pie pan, and freeze it. Once frozen, remove the filling from the foil, place it in a freezer storage bag, and store in the freezer until you are ready to bake a pie. 33 of 38 Grilled Peach Cobbler Greg Dupree; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham Peach Cobbler in a cast iron skillet? Yes please. Perfect for a barbecue or just a tasty excuse to fire up the grill, serve this buttery biscuit-topped fruit dessert fresh off the fire or at room temperature. 34 of 38 Peach Cream Kuchen Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller This recipe from the Hill Country Fruit Council in Central Texas celebrates regional produce with heritage. Honoring German influence on Texas food culture, this pie-like pastry begins with a shortbread crust and is loaded with cinnamon-and-sugar peaches. Top it all off with a sour cream custard and join in the celebration for this delicious culinary collaboration. 35 of 38 McLeod Farms' Fresh Peach Pound Cake Photographer Victor Protasio, Food Stylist Margaret Dickey, Prop Stylist Chistina Daley Family-owned McLeod farms in South Carolina has grown peaches since 1916, so when they tell us how we should use them, we listen. Taking full advantage of summer bounties, this fruit-focused pound cake uses peaches in both the batter and the glossy glaze. Bake the batter in a 10-inch tube pan for about an hour, and drizzle the peach glaze over the cooled pound cake before serving. 36 of 38 Easy Peach Pie Ann Taylor Pittman/Southern Living Store-bought pie crust is the first step on the road to easy, delicious peach pie, though after gussying it up a bit, the crust's origins will be long forgotten. Use fresh, freestone peaches that release easily from the pit, and brush the crust with an egg wash and a sprinkling of turbinado sugar for a crunchier result. Unlike many other peach pie recipes that rely on cinnamon and nutmeg, we like to add a little vanilla extract to the filling for a peaches-and-cream effect. 37 of 38 Slow Cooker Peach Cobbler Jennifer Davick; Food Styling: Vanessa Rocchio; Prop Styling: Missie Crawford Peach cobbler is a classic for a reason, and this recipe keeps it simple with one game-changing, surprise ingredient: ginger. Under a crumbly topping, crystallized ginger in the peach-sugar filling adds depth of flavor that will have all your summer guests asking for your cobbler recipe. And it’s easy too, spread the cobbler topping over the fruit mixture and let it cook on high for 2 to 3 hours in the slow cooker. 38 of 38 Peach and Blueberry Cobbler Micah A. Leal We love the simplicity of a cobbler and how they allow their flavors and textures to shine. In this cobbler, the batter completely covers the fruit instead the usual dollops of pastry speckled on top. Peaches and blueberries spiced with cinnamon and brown sugar marry underneath pillowy pastry to create a dessert that merits your heartiest scoop of vanilla ice cream. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit