Peach Crumb Bars

Peach crumb bars use modern conveniences to craft the perfect balance of texture and old-school flavor so good it just may bring tears to your eyes.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword crumb bars, peach bars, peach desserts, Peach Recipes

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 55

Total Time 1 10

Servings crumb bars

Calories 282kcal

Author Kathleen

Preheat oven to 375 °F (185 °C). Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
Make crumble and Crust: In a medium bowl, combine 3 cups of flour, 1 cup of sugar, baking powder (1 teaspoon), and salt (1/4 teaspoon). Add the cold butter (1 cup) and toss with the flour mixture. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut the butter into the flour mixture, until it's the size of peas.
In a small mixing bowl whisk together egg (1) and vanilla (1 teaspoon) then stir into the crumb mixture. The dough will be crumbly. Press half of the dough into the prepared baking pan. Reserve the other half.
Make Filling: In another bowl, stir together 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon (1/2 teaspoon), nutmeg (1/4 teaspoon), lemon juice (1 tablespoon), and cornstarch (4 teaspoons). Add the sliced peaches and gently mix. Spoon the peaches (4 cups) over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the peach mixture.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, until the top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares. Stores really well in the fridge.

Frozen Peaches: I make them with fresh or frozen peaches. Hence, the large amount of sugar. If using frozen, be sure to let them thaw completely and drain them well.
Canned Peaches: I don’t use canned peaches in the recipe because they would just be too sweet. Even when you drain them, they’ve already absorbed a good amount of cling syrup.
Tools to Make: Really you can make these crumb bars with something as simple as two knives, but it really helps to have a pastry cutter to cut in the butter. This is the pastry cutter I use. I like it because it’s inexpensive and has thick stainless blades cut the butter in easily. If you have a food processor, it works beautifully.
Butter - You’ll want to keep your butter really cold. If the butter gets too soft, then the water in the butter will react with the gluten in the flour making your dough chewy instead of flakey. For a flakey pie-like crust – cold butter.