Peach Crumb Bar Recipe

Directive Eats
Written By Sharon To
 
Image of a peach crumb bar in a cake shape on a pink plate with a 3-tier dessert plate behind it with blueberries at the top, green grapes in the center, and cut crumb bar pieces at the bottom
 

One of the best things about summer is all of the fruits that are in season! And one of my favorite fruits of all? Peaches! Specifically white peaches. I love it when they’re crisp and crunchy, and when the flavor is light and sweet. And so before summer ends, I wanted to make this yummy treat to take advantage of the season and all the sweetness it has to offer.

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The Ingredients

Image of ingredients for peach crumb bar: flour, diced white peaches, sugar, vanilla, butter, egg, water, salt

For this recipe, the hero is, of course, the peaches. Because white peaches are my favorite fruit, I choose to make this crumb bar using white peaches, but they’re typically a lot more subtle in flavor compared to yellow peaches. So if you’re looking for a strong and tart peach flavor to come through, I’d suggest substituting the white for yellow.

I also used a combination of brown and granulated sugar for this recipe because I wanted the texture of the crumb crust to be a bit more chewier compared to a crust that might be more crispy if it were to be entirely granulated sugar. Feel free to play around with your sugar ratios to get the texture that you most prefer!

The Process

To start, I mixed together all the dry ingredients (flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, cinnamon).

Then I beat in the cubed butter, which was still cold. You can use a hand mixer or even a food processor and pulse it slowly until the butter makes the dry ingredients almost like clumpy sand. Then add in the egg and but until just combined.

 
Clumps of butter and brown sugar in a metal mixing bowl
 

To form the base, I pressed the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the baking dish that I coated with butter. This way it’ll be easier to remove from the pan after. Be sure to leave some crumb mixture so that it can be spread out on top afterwards.

Next up was the peach filling. I diced 2 white peaches, then coated them with sugar, cinnamon, and corn starch. The corn starch is what will help thicken the syrup-like coating that’ll form. Then I drizzled the lemon juice and tossed the peaches until it was evenly coated.

 
Diced white peaches covered in lemon juice and corn starch
 

I spread the peach filling over the crumb base in the baking dish, then covered the top with the remaining crumb mixture, and then it was ready to head into the oven.

 
Unbaked peach crumb bar in a clear rectangular glass container and a cake pan
 

Baking time will vary based on how deep and large your baking dish is, but for mine I baked the rectangular glass baking dish for about 40 minutes and the round cake pan for about 45 minutes. I determined it was done based on the golden brown-ness of the top portion while also making sure that a toothpick through the center comes out clean.

 
Baked peach crumb bar in two baking containers
 

Allow the baking dish to cool, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to an hour. I found that the crumb bars were much more fragrant after leaving them to chill in the refrigerator overnight, which allowed the flavor to really come out, but you can definitely have it ASAP!

The Results

I have to say this might be one of my favorite dessert treats so far! It was so easy to make, with super simple ingredients and pretty foolproof steps, and it was so nicely sweet and tasty!

The crumbliness of the crust was just right and very lightly sweet so that the flavor of the peach could really come through. As I mentioned before, white peaches have a much more subtle flavor, so this treat likewise has a very subtle sweetness and peach fragrance.

It tastes great chilled and even better warmed, so I’d highly suggest if you enjoy a warm treat to microwave it for a few seconds before enjoying.

 
Image of baked peach crumb bar
 

Peach Crumb Bar

Ingredients

Crumb Crust

ºoº 3 cups all-purpose flour
ºoº 1/2 cup granulated sugar
ºoº 1/2 cup brown sugar
ºoº 3 tsp baking powder
ºoº 1/4 tsp salt
ºoº 1 cup butter, cut into cubes
ºoº 1 tsp vanilla extract
ºoº 1 tsp cinnamon
ºoº 1 egg

Peach Filling

ºoº 2 white peaches, diced
ºoº 1 tbsp lemon juice
ºoº 2 tbsp granulated sugar
ºoº 1 tbsp cornstarch
ºoº 1/4 tsp cinnamon


Directions

Cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 350F

  2. Grease a baking dish or cake pan and line with parchment paper

  3. Mix together the flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon

  4. Beat in cubed butter and vanilla extract so that the dry ingredients start to form small clumps

  5. Mix in the egg until well combined and mixture still looks crumbly

  6. Press the crumb crust into the pan so it’s well-packed, saving about 1/4 of the crumb mixture for the topping

  7. Prepare the peach filling by mixing together the cornstarch, granulated sugar, and cinnamon

  8. Pour the mixture over the diced peaches and fold until the peaches are well-coated

  9. Pour in the lemon juice and fold again until well mixed

  10. Layer the peach filling evenly over the crumb crust in the baking pan

  11. Finally top it off with the remaining crumb crust

  12. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick through the center comes out clean

  13. Allow the cake to cool, then chill for at least 30 minutes to one hour (preferably overnight) before slicing and serving

Notes

ºoº Vegan replacements:
o Butter: applesauce or vegan butter
o Egg: 1 tbsp ground flax seed + 2.5 tbsp water
ºoº Resting the crumb bars overnight allows the flavor to really come through, so if you can hold
back, it’ll be worth the wait!
ºoº Best enjoyed warm! Before you dig in, give the bars a quick zap in the microwave for 10 seconds or
less

Sharon To
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