Peach Crumble Bars
Last week I did a savory peach recipe, so this week I’m doing a sweet peach recipe. While I love peaches in savory recipes, my favorite is without question dessert. There’s just nothing better than a warm slice of peach pie with a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream melting down the side. But who says pie or tarts are the only dessert you have to make with peaches? Certainly not me. No, I’ve made popsicles and cakes as well! I’d never made bars, though. Sure, I’ve made lemon bars a zillion times. But that’s usually where I stop. Lemon or lime and nothing else. I recently stumbled upon a recipe from Martha Steward and thought why not? I mean, peaches are great chopped up and cooked down for pie filling, why couldn’t you do the same thing for bars?
Turns out you can! And the benefit with making a pie filling and turning it into bars is that you can serve more people! I mean, you only get about 8 – 10 servings with a pie, but with a bar, you can easily get at least 16! Plus bars are a better choice when you’re looking to make a dessert for a potluck. Bringing them pre-cut and on a pretty platter means that guests can easily walk by and pick them up rather than slicing and using a plate, fork and knife. I know that if I’m at a party I much prefer finger food over fork-and-knife food.
What’s great about these bars is that they don’t take a lot of effort. The crust is a simple press-in dough and the hardest thing about the filling is peeling the peaches. While you absolutely don’t have to peel the peaches, the bars are soooooo much better. It’s just cleaner. The other thing about these bars that makes them a little more special is the crumble on top. Again, while it absolutely doesn’t need it, it just gives the dessert a little extra something. I love a sweet crust and since the crumble is the same dough that’s used as the crust on the bottom, it’s like getting an extra bite of sweetness.
Like I said, peach pie is one of my all time favorite desserts but I always feel like there’s never enough! These bars alleviate that problem. It really is a peach pie in bar form. And if you’re as big a fan of peach pie as I am, these will definitely be your new favorite peach dessert. You can even serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if you want. The bars don’t need it, but a little extra indulgence never hurt anyone.
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar, divided
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons flour, divided
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1-1/4 pounds of peaches
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 8-by-8 pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on the sides and set aside.
- Make the Crust: Beat butter with 1/2 cup of sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add 2 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon salt and beat until dough forms clumps but does not completely hold together. Press about 2 cups of the flour mixture into the bottom and up the sides of prepared pan.
- Make the Filling: Bring a large pot of water to rolling boil. Drop the ripe peaches in the water and let cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain peaches. Refill the pot with cold water. Peel peaches. (If the peaches are nice and ripe, the peel should come right off with little to no effort.) Once peeled, pit and chop the peaches.
- Stir together chopped peaches, remaining sugar and flour, lemon juice, and remaining salt in a large bowl. Pour peach filling into prepared crust.
- Crumble the remaining flour mixture evenly over top. Bake until bubbling and crust is golden, about 1 hour, 10 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into squares and serve.
