Photo: Leigh Loftus
Everywhere you look, from the candy aisle at CVS to…well, anything else that tends to overtly display seasonal affection in a commercial manner, you’ll see Fall, Fall and more Fall. Now, this bodes well for me. I like to sleep with my windows open and I glean just enough joy out of a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks for it to be an appropriate small delight as opposed to a pathetic fixation.
This also bodes well for the farmers markets and pumpkin farms – everyone is all about apples, squash and gourds from now until Thanksgiving. Finally, it also bodes well for the dental industry (because between caramel apples, maple-flavored everything and pumpkin spice donuts…stop looking at me like that…sweets are abundant and good dental hygiene? Priceless this time of year).
I digress.
What a season change does not bode well for is summer fruit. While I’m truly not a fan of humidity and triple-digit heat index, I am a fan of fresh berries, stone fruit and melon. Despite the fact that closet is ready for sweaters and I purchased my first squash of the season this Sunday, I’m not quite ready to let go of juicy, slightly overripe summer peaches.
To honor summer – and it’s bounty – one last time, I think you should hightail it over to Whole Foods, where peaches are $1.49 a pound and make these decadent, buttery, can’t-have-just one peach crumb bars. I’ve seen versions of these floating all over the internet since August so if you’re having trouble deciding which one to make, look no further.
Photo: Leigh Loftus
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold (stick them in the freezer for ten minutes before use)
- 1 large egg
- 2 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 9×13 inch pan, or spray it with a nonstick spray. In a medium bowl, stir together sugar, baking powder, flour, salt and spices with a whisk. Use a pastry blender (or just get in there with your hands - use your fingers) and blend the butter and egg into the flour mixture. Pat about ⅔ of the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan, pressing firmly.
- Place peach slices over crumb base in a single layer. Spread remaining crumbs over peaches until coated evenly.
- Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color around the edges. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares.
19 Comments
Types of Flour for Different Baking Needs
February 6, 2017 at 12:59 am[…] The most common type of flour, all-purpose, is milled from the heart of the wheat berry, which holds the lightest color and richest, gluten-producing protein. You can use all-purpose flour in most recipes, so try it in some unique ones like brie and chive biscuits or peach crumb bars. […]
Chrissy
June 1, 2011 at 4:33 pmI love the summer…partially due to the copious amount of peaches that fall from my tree, back home in LA. Peach cobbler every night in the summer time. OH YEA. I’ll have to bring this recipe home to share with my mom, so we can switch it up a bit. Thanks!
megan {a dash of megnut}
May 31, 2011 at 3:18 pmyummmm! i love that i have every ingredient in my apartment right now and can make these!
Flour Power: Types of Flour for Baking
May 19, 2011 at 12:01 pm[…] All-Purpose Flour: The most common type of flour, all-purpose, is milled from the heart of the wheat berry, which holds the lightest color and richest, gluten-producing protein. You can use all-purpose flour in most recipes, so try it in some unique ones like brie and chive biscuits or peach crumb bars. […]
Lena
October 12, 2010 at 10:17 amI just adapted them too and posted them yesterday. The recipe is from smitten kitchen, isn’t it? It’s heaven.
Allie
October 6, 2010 at 10:42 amI’m hoping one of these days my life will calm down a bit so that I can actually try some of these things!
Hope you’re well – I’m thinking about putting together a group brunch soon 🙂
Sarah Caron
October 5, 2010 at 10:06 amYum! I love anything with a nice crumb top. These look great.
Heidi Renée
September 28, 2010 at 8:55 pmI was contemplating making this, but then I realized that I’ve never seen peaches at our commissary! Trip into town it is, then.
natalie (the sweets life)
September 28, 2010 at 2:57 pmuhhh summer don’t leave!!!!! While I’m ready for fall foods, I wish I could keep the summer ones too. These look delish–we bought peaches at the farmer’s market but they were sub-par. Sigh, fall really is on its way…
Joanne
September 28, 2010 at 12:16 pmI am SUPER excited for fall as well, but you’re right. I am going to miss my stone fruit. I think I’m going to have to make a date with Whole Foods because these bars canNOT be missed!
Laurie
September 28, 2010 at 12:11 pmI am absolutely making these this weekend!
Heather @ The Single Dish
September 28, 2010 at 12:10 pmI am already missing summer peaches and other fruits! I made peach jam, I wonder how these would taste with peach jam as the filling? They look delicious!
kat
September 28, 2010 at 10:16 amYeah, we’ll miss the summer fruit too, time to stock up on apples!
Kalynskitchen
September 28, 2010 at 9:50 amI have a big bowl of peaches I got from my sister-in-law and I want to make something with them today. Love this!
Lori @ RecipeGirl
September 28, 2010 at 9:42 amThey look awesome to me. I’m such a fan of peaches. They’re still good around here in SoCal!
Camille
September 28, 2010 at 9:32 amOoh! I have been wanting to make something with peach lately and these. look. amazing.
Thanks!
Tarrah Dame
September 27, 2010 at 9:38 pmThanks for sharing this they look amazing! I’m so on the same page as you with loving fall but missing peaches!
Alanna Kellogg
September 27, 2010 at 11:01 pmCheck out Two Peas and Their Pod, too funny!
Daryl
September 27, 2010 at 10:17 pmThey look absolutely amazing. The peaches have been fantastic this season.