Bourbon Apple Cranberry Cobbler with Anise and Vanilla Bean

Name: Bourbon Apple Cranberry Cobbler with Anise and Vanilla Bean
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 Generous Servings
Ingredients: 1 C Fresh Cranberries (100g); 1/3 C Bourbon such as Jim Beam Reserve or Makers Mark (78mL); 3/4 tsp Star Anise Extract or two star anise (I use Rodelle); 2 Tbs Brown Sugar (30g); 1/2 Vanilla Bean (I use Rodelle); 3 Baking Apples: I prefer Jonagolds (but Gala and Honeycrisp are lovely (550g before peeling)); 1/2 tsp Lemon Zest; 1 Tbs Lemon Juice; 2 Tbs Brown Sugar; 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon; Pinch of Sea Salt; 4 Tbs Unsalted Butter (56g); 1/4 C Sugar (Evaporated Cane Juice, 56g); 3/4 C All Purpose Flour (118g); 2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder; Pinch of Sea Salt; 3/4 C + 2 Tbs Heavy Whip Cream (207 mL); 1 Tbs Turbinado or Sanding Sugar for finishing; Sifted powder sugar; Vanilla Bean Ice Cream; Vanilla Bean Whip Cream

By Traci 87 Comments

Packed with fall flavors, this Bourbon Apple Cranberry Cobbler with Anise and Vanilla Bean recipe is a delicious and easy dessert to pull together for your most festive dinners. Disclosure: Star Anise and Vanilla Bean Gifted by: Rodelle Kitchen. All opinions are my own.

This time of year is aligned with all things comfort like Bourbon Pecan Pie, warm cozy socks, a crackling fire, Mamaw’s Holiday Coffee, and your most favorite cozy sweater. There’s another comfort to add to your list; bourbon apple cranberry cobbler with anise and vanilla bean.

My friends over at Rodelle Kitchen sent me a goodie pack a few weeks ago. Included was a bottle of anise extract. I’ve had anise in chai, apple cider and pho but had not discovered its unique flavor in baking, so I wasn’t really sure what I would do with this fragrant extract.

Contemplating how it would pair with other flavors, I was first drawn to apples and cranberries, because, well, they’re in season, and we had a nice bunch of apples from our apple pick a few weeks back.

Since it’s the season of festivities, I thought I’d break out my favorite baking booze; bourbon is always a winner with apples.

I adapted this from a grunt recipe, yet after doing a bit of research on what a grunt is, I had to change my title from grunt to cobbler. A grunt is in the same group as crisps, pandowdys, cobblers, brown betties, slumps and buckles.

While all of these desserts focus on seasonal fruit, the difference between most of these is the crust or topping; from the ingredients to how the dessert is assembled and/or baked. I realized, what I created was a cobbler, not a grunt (splitting hairs?).

A cobbler is a comforting baked mix of seasonal fruit with a biscuity dough topping. This dough is creamy and tender, not flaky, with a hint of crunch on the surface. I’m a little in love with dough, so I tend to go a bit overboard with this particular component. I find it imperative to have a tender, creamy bit of dough with every mouthwatering bite of sweet apples, tart cranberries, anise and caramelized bourbony, buttery syrup.

Pure comfort. Delicious served after a festive meal or a cozy night by the fire.

Serve fresh from the oven in single serve 10 oz ramekins with a heaping scoop of vanilla bean ice or whip cream. This recipe will also fill an 8×8 baking dish for community servings. Either way, their bowls will be clean.

5 from 6 votes