Sugar-Crusted Apple Cobbler

From King Arthur Baking Company (with my changes)

PREP 20 mins; BAKE 35 to 40 mins; TOTAL 2 hrs 10 mins;  YIELD one 8" square or 9" round cobbler

Ingredients

• 4 medium-to-large baking apples, peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4″ thick;
• about 6 cups (650g) (I used 2 Pink Lady, 2 Honeycrisp)
• 2 tablespoons (28g) lemon juice or (43g) boiled cider, optional
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 8 tablespoons/1 stick (113g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup (198g) sugar, divided
• 1/2 cup (113g) buttermilk
• 1 cup (120g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used vanilla paste)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons (14g to 28g) water

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8” square or 9” round pan.
2. Toss the apples with lemon juice (or boiled cider) to keep them from turning brown while you work. If you are a fast worker, no need. Then toss with nutmeg and cinnamon. Place the apples in the prepared pan, pressing them into an even layer. Set aside.
3. Beat together the butter and 1/2 cup (99g) of the sugar in a medium mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. Add the buttermilk, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla, then beat again until smooth.
4. Spoon the batter – it should be rather stiff – over the apples in the pan, using your spatula to spread it into an even layer all the way to the edges of the pan.
5. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup (99g) sugar over the batter as evenly as possible. Use a small spoon to drizzle/splash the water onto the sugar, letting it soak in; the goal is to get all the sugar wet.
6. Bake the cobbler for 35 to 40 minutes, until the surface is golden and crispy and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake topping comes out clean.
7. Remove the cobbler from the oven and place it on a rack to cool and set for about 30 minutes; the topping will settle during this time.
8. Serve the cobbler warm, with or without vanilla ice cream. Cover leftover cobbler and store at room temperature. Reheat in a warm 300°F oven for 10 to 20 minutes. Refrigerate any leftovers.

I didn’t get a picture before it was gobbled up, so I used the one that was with the recipe.