Hi friends! It’s been a long time since I posted on the blog though I have still been active on my Instagram and Facebook pages (@thistastylife). A lot has happened since I last posted in April (!) but instead of getting into all of that, let’s talk about dessert instead.
I was watching Food Network on the Firestick the other day and on Girl Meets Farm, she made some Apple Pie Bars. I wanted to do something similar, but I wanted to do it with peaches instead. I also adjusted the filling and topping slightly more to my liking and viola – a new recipe!
It’s a pretty simple one. These Peach Pie Bars start with a shortbread crust to form the “bar” part of this dessert.
Then comes a lovely peach filling. You could also swap this for nectarines. Or plums. Or pears. Or apples!
Then there’s a streusel topping that makes you feel partly like you’re eating a crumb top pie (or a crisp).
It’s quite delightful and crazy simple to make this dessert. I highly recommend eating one of the Peach Pie Bars warmed up with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
I like that this feels like you’re eating a bunch of different kinds of desserts all wrapped into one. The shortbread crust gives you cookie/bar feels, while the filling makes you think of pie, and the topping makes you think of pie or crisps! You can’t go wrong with this one, and I advise you make it stat.
Peach Pie Bars
Ingredients
Crust:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Filling:
3 peaches, peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons apple juice
1/2 cup of jam (I used strawberry)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Topping:
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
In a bowl, mix together the ingredients for the crust. Use your (clean) hands to get in and squish the butter until it is well mixed into the dough. It will start to come together to form a ball. Place into a 8×8 baking pan (lined with parchment paper, if you have it). Bake at 350 degrees in an air fryer/convection oven for 8-9 minutes, or about 10-12 minutes in a regular oven, until golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in another bowl mix together your fresh peaches with lemon juice and apple juice. Add in strawberry jam, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, and cornstarch. Stir to combine and pour on top of your slightly cooled crust.
Grab yet another bowl (this is a recipe for using lots of bowls) and combine your flour, oats, sugar, salt, and softened butter. Again, mix and then use your hands to squish the butter into the mixture to make it form soft, crumbly mounds. Sprinkle this on top of your peach mixture.
Bake at 350 degrees in a regular oven for 35 minutes. In an air fryer/convection oven, bake for about 25-30 minutes.
Let cool and then slice into bars. Highly recommend eating it warmed up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
