Peach Crumble Bars; sweet summer peaches sandwiched between a rustic brown sugar biscuit base and a chunky cinnamon crumble topping.
Summer can be difficult for the hot dessert lovers.
That’s the people who love their desserts hot, not the hot people who love dessert. Though I imagine they have their hard times too.
Apple crumble, and any other soft fruit under a blanket of buttery crumbs, is one of my til-death-do-us-part desserts. I adore it, and have been known to enjoy it for breakfast and even as dinner, because why limit sweet pleasure to after a meal?
However, it’s currently between 30-36 degrees Celsius every day here in Italy. That means hot food, or anything cooked in general, is bottom of my priorities list. Fresh fruit, salads, sandwiches, and various fridge-cold snacks are all I want.
Do you love crumble too? Why not try my Winter Berry Crumble for those colder days?
The cradling comfort of crumble is never unwelcome though. These Peach Crumble Bars are an ideal example of that.
They offer all of the rich satisfaction of buttery spiced crumble, without the hot heaviness. Incorporating seasonal fruit adds a freshness to what is normally a one-note affair too.
Ripe and juicy summer peaches need just a kiss of vanilla to make a delicious soft fruit filling for these Peach Crumble Bars. No need for excess sugar, or for pre-cooking. These beauties are naturally soft and sweet enough.
With a simple press-to-fit biscuit dough base, and a nutty cinnamon crumble topping, this might be my new favourite way to eat fruit. Crisp, crumbly, soft, and gooey all at once.
As long as you have a couple of big bowls and a baking tray, you can throw together these Peach Crumble Bars. Not only that, but you can enjoy them in any way you like. If you’re reading this in the depths of a cold spell, these bars are gorgeous when enjoyed warm or at room temperature. I find them at their best, however, fresh and cold straight from the fridge.
Take them to a barbecue, serve them up as an after-dinner treat, or scoff them as a fancy breakfast!
Want to save these Peach Crumble Bars for later? You can pin the image below:
To make these Peach Crumble Bars, simply follow the recipe below:
Ingredients
For the biscuit base:
- 150g (1 ¼ cup) plain or ’00’ flour
- 85g (5 ½ tbsp) cold salted butter, cut into small cubes
- 65g (⅓ cup) soft brown sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
For the peach filling:
- 4-6 ripe peaches, skin on
- 2 tbsp plain or ’00’ flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the crumble topping:
- 150g (1 ¼ cup) plain or ’00’ flour
- 85g (5 ½ tbsp) cold salted butter, cut into small cubes
- 65g (⅓ cup) soft brown sugar
- Small handful of rolled oats
- Small handful of walnuts (optional)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
For the biscuit base:
- Grease and line a 18cm x 25cm (7in x 10in), or 20cm x 20cm (8in x 8in), baking tin with greaseproof paper.
- In a large bowl or food processor, rub/blitz together the flour, butter and sugar until the mixture resemble chunky breadcrumbs.
- Add the egg yolk and stir/blitz until you have a crumbly dough.
- Using your hands, or the back of a large spoon, press the dough into a flat layer in your prepared tin.
- Chill the tin of dough in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven – 180 C / 160 C fan / 350 F / gas mark 4.
- Once the dough is chilled, and the oven preheated, place the tin into the oven to bake for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make your filling and topping.
For the peach filling:
- De-stone your peaches and slice them into small chunks.
- Tip your peach chunks into a large bowl and stir through the flour and vanilla until combined.
- Set aside.
For the crumble topping:
- In a large bowl or food processor, rub/blitz together all the crumble ingredients until you have chunky beige rubble with no big lumps of butter.
- Set aside.
To assemble:
- When your biscuit base has part-baked, remove the tin from the oven.
- Spoon your peach filling over the biscuit, spreading it out evenly.
- Scatter your crumble topping evenly over the peach filling.
- Return the tin to the oven to bake for a further 35-40 minutes. The crumble should be gently browned, and your kitchen smelling delicious.
- Allow to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.
- Enjoy freshly warm, at room temperature, or nice and cold from the fridge!
BE A MAVERICK: why not try out this recipe with apricots or nectarines instead?
These Peach Crumble Bars will keep well covered in the fridge for up to 4 days, but are best enjoyed fresh!
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