Peach Crumb Bars

Peaches are in season! One county over from ours is the home to several peach farms. I love to go visit during peach season. Fresh peaches abound and I like to stop at a little restuarant and enjoy a scoop of Peach Ice Cream or a Fried Peach Pie. My local grocer had peaches on sale, so I stocked up. I wanted to make homemade peach ice cream, but I had to order a replacement part. I was going to make peach pie, but I didn't want to have to wait hours for it to be cool enough to eat. So I came up with this recipe based on a lemon bars recipe I like.

For the Dough:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, cold
1 egg, lightly beaten

For the Filling:
5 cups diced ripe peaches (about 7 peaches, peeled)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 TBS cornstarch
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Dough: In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut in the butter, and then the egg. The dough will be crumbly.  Place the bowl of dough in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

Filling: Place the diced peaches in a large bowl and sprinkle with lemon juice. Mix gently. In a separate bowl whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over the peaches and mix gently.

Pat half of the dough into the prepared pan. Spread the peach mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the peach layer.

Bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares. Sprinkle with powdered sugar for extra cuteness.

These did not last long in our home.