You’ll Never Guess The Secret Ingredient in This Cobbler

Summer is the season of so many amazing things – beach days, backyard grilling, and (most importantly) the freshest fruits of the year.

Now, it would just be a shame to let this abundance of peaches, berries, and other fruits go to waste when they’re in their prime. So you know what that mean?

FRUIT COBBLERS.

Yes, you can also eat those fruits by themselves, but let’s all be honest – fruits are always better when they’re baked in a warm, doughy crust and topped with sugar.

If you’ve been looking for THE cobbler recipe to try this summer, have we got it for you. It’s a berry peach cobbler that uses one very unexpected secret ingredient: beer.

While beer is a summer essential (for drinking, of course), we would never consider using it in our summer baking. But for this cobbler recipe, brought to us by Sam Adams, it is a key ingredient.

You use the beer both in the fruit filling and to drizzle on top. Which means double deliciousness.

Cobbler can often be overly sweet, especially if the fruit is very ripe, so the beer helps to temper that too-sweet flavor. The hoppy, slightly bitter flavor is a great compliment to the sugary fruit, and brings a whole new layer of flavor to the dessert. You can’t taste the beer as much in the buttery crust, but it’s still adds a unique, almost sour taste to pull together your dessert.

Now, you don’t have to feel restricted to summer beer in your cobbler. You can use any beer you’d like, but we personally like the light, fruity flavors you find in many summer beers – including Sam Summer Ale, the beer used in this particular recipe.

The great thing about this recipe is how perfect for summer it is!

Both the ale and the fruits are seasonal, so it really makes for a delicious, unique novelty dessert that your dinner guests are going to love. And don’t worry, we’ve included the ingredients for you below.

Thanks to Food52 for sharing this one-of-a-kind summer recipe!

SUMMER ALE PEACH COBBLER

INGREDIENTS

For the biscuit topping:

  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups flour


  • 1/3 cup sugar

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1 egg yolk

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 1/2 cup summer ale or other beer

  • 1/3 cup dry powdered milk

  • 6 tablespoons cold butter

  • For the filling:

  • 1/2 cup sugar

  • 1/4 cup cornstarch

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

  • Zest of one lemon

  • 5 medium peaches, peeled and sliced

  • 1 pint blueberries

  • 1/2 cup summer ale or other beer