Description
Delicious fresh peach bars with a buttery oatmeal crust and almond crumble topping. These bars feature a sweet and tangy peach filling thickened with cornstarch and balanced by a cinnamon-spiced oat crumble. Perfect as a summertime dessert or snack.
Ingredients
Scale
Peach Filling
- 3 cups ripe peaches (about 5-6 peaches), peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
Oatmeal Crumb
- 1 1/4 cups rolled oats
- 1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 3/4 cups brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt (slightly rounded)
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick + 2 tablespoons), melted
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Set your oven to 350°F to ensure it’s ready for baking.
- Prepare Peach Filling: In a shallow skillet, combine peaches, brown sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and water. Bring to a boil while stirring occasionally, then reduce heat to medium. Cook for 5 minutes until the peaches become saucy and sugar dissolves. Mix cornstarch with water to create a slurry and add it to the peaches while stirring constantly. Cook for one more minute until the mixture thickens, then remove from heat and let it cool.
- Make Oatmeal Crust: In a large bowl, mix rolled oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Pour melted butter into the mixture and stir until fully combined.
- Form Base Layer: Press 2 cups of the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of an 11 x 7 inch baking pan, making sure there are no gaps. Par-bake this base for 15 minutes in the preheated oven.
- Prepare Crumble Topping: Add the sliced almonds to the remaining crumb mixture and stir to combine.
- Assemble the Bars: Spread the cooled peach filling evenly over the par-baked crust. Sprinkle the almond crumble topping generously over the peaches.
- Bake: Return the assembled pan to the oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.
- Cool and Serve: Allow the peach bars to cool completely to room temperature before slicing into 24 squares approximately 1 1/4 inches each.
Notes
- For easier peeling, blanch peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds then transfer to ice water.
- You can substitute rolled oats with quick oats but the texture may be less crumbly.
- Use fresh, ripe peaches for best flavor; frozen peaches will add extra moisture.
- The bars can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and are excellent served chilled or at room temperature.
- To make the crust dairy-free, substitute butter with a vegan margarine of equal amount.
- Line the baking pan with parchment paper for easy removal and cleaner slicing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar (1 1/4 inch square)
- Calories: 180 kcal
- Sugar: 12 g
- Sodium: 120 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg
