What is the Difference Between a Cobbler, Betty, Crisp or Crumble?

The same questions come up over and over again when fruit is plentiful. What is the difference between a Crumble and a Crisp? What exactly is a Cobbler? What the hell is a Grunt? We'll try to clarify what the difference is between all these related fruit desserts.

Crisps and Crumbles - A crisp is baked in a dish with the fruit on the bottom and with a crumb topping. The topping can be made with a base of bread crumbs, flour, nuts, cookie or graham cracker crumbs. A crumble is the British version of an American Crisp.

Cobbler - These are deep-dish pies with a thick crust and a fruit filling (such as berries, peaches, or apples). The crust is generally a biscut crust but various versions of crust exist, some enclosed in the crust, while others have a crumb topping or drop-biscuit. The cobbler takes its name from the biscuit dough crust on top - it is rough looking or 'cobbled.' It originated in the U.S. sometime in the early to mid 19th century.

Clafouti - This is a dessert that originated in the French countryside. It is a dessert that the fruit is topped with either a cake or pudding topping. It is often considered a baked pudding.

Grunts or Slumps - A simple dumpling-like pudding using local fruit. Usually cooked on top of the stove.

Betty or Brown Betty - An American dessert that dates back to Colonial American time. A 'betty' is a baked pudding, made with layers of sweetened and spiced fruit and buttered bread crumbs. It is usually served with a lemon sauce and/or whipped cream. The most familiar one is the Apple Brown Betty, made with sliced apples and brown sugar. A Betty consists of a fruit, most commonly apples, baked between layers of buttered crumbs. Betties are closely related to the French apple Charlotte.

Buckle or Crumble - This is a type of cake made in a single layer with berries added to the batter. It is usually made with blueberries. The topping is similar to a streusel, which gives it a buckled or crumpled appearance.

Bird's Nest Pudding - A pudding containing apples whose cores have been replaced by sugar. The apples are nestled in a bowl created by the crust. Also called Crow's Nest Pudding.

Sonker - A sonker is a deep-dish pie or cobbler served in many flavors including strawberry, peach, sweet potato, and cherry. It sometimes is called a zonker or sonker in some parts of the country. It is a dish unique to North Carolina.

Pandowdy - Sometimes written as pan dowdy, is a dessert with an unknown origin. It is a deep-dish dessert that can be made with a variety of fruit, but is most commonly made with apples sweetened with molasses or brown sugar. The topping is a crumbly type of biscuit except the crust is broken up during baking and pushed down into the fruit to allow the juices to come through. Sometimes the crust is on the bottom and the desert is inverted before serving.