Sweet Peach Crumble Bars
FRESH PEACHES NEVER TASTED SO GOOD
If you love peach desserts with fresh peaches I’ve created these gorgeous, sweet peach crumble bars for you that will take your mind off of anything that is bothering you while you sink your teeth into one of them.
Although these peach crumble bars are perfect as a fall or winter treat they will also make a great peach dessert for your Thanksgiving and Christmas Dinner. What I like about having easy desserts in my recipe repertoire is that I can turn to them in an instant to create something that tastes like a bakery made it.
I’m a big fan of bar recipes because they are easy to eat and transport as a snack for work or for those who go to school. My coconut cherry pie bars are one of my favourite but I am also passionate about these peach crumble bars that are sweet and hit the spot.
Peach Varieties
In Ontario we are lucky to have delicious home-grown peaches in many varieties and produce 82% of the national production according to Ontariotenderfruit.ca where you can learn all about Ontario fruits including availability, storage and handling and some amazing recipes. You even get the opportunity to meet some of our best Ontario farmers. Check it out!
Semi-Freestone Peaches
The flesh of these peaches partially clings to the pit and are excellent for eating out-of-hand. Varieties include Harrow Diamond, Springcrest, Candor, Harrow Dawn, Early Redhaven, Garnet Beauty, Risingstar, Brighton, Sunhaven, Harbelle and Sentinel.Freestone Peaches
The flesh of a freestone peach separates easily from the pit, making it perfect both for eating fresh and for preserving. Varieties include Redhaven, Vivid, Harbite, Harson, Blazingstar, Harrowfair, Starfire, Veeglo, Harrow Beauty, Loring, PF24, Allstar, Coralstar, Cresthaven, Redskin, Glowingstar and Harcrest.Nectarine Varieties
Fantasia
Fantasia has firm yellow flesh; the skin is bright red over a yellow background. It’s great for eating with intense flavour.Harblaze
Harblaze is a medium to large fruit with yellow flesh and mostly red skin.
I used fresh peaches for these peach crumble bars but if you don’t have fresh peaches you can use canned peaches that are packed in water as well. I personally like to keep some of the peach peel on but I suggest peeling the peaches in full if this is something you don’t care for. It won’t change the outcome of the peach crumble bars as I’ve made them both ways a few times now.
You may think that these peach crumble bars will be sweet with the condensed milk but it adds a creamy layer to the peaches. If you want to eliminate the condensed milk you can do that as well as there is sugar that is mixed in with the peaches although you might want to add a bit more sugar if you want the bars to be sweet. I promise you though that these peach crumble bars won’t last long in any kitchen.
The best part about these peach crumble bars is the price which might run you a few dollars to make. Consider buying one peach crumble square at a specialty coffee shop for $3 and you can easily see how budget-friendly this peach crumble bar is.
How to make peach crumble bars
- Base and Topping
- 3-3/4 cups of white flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon Almond extract
- 1-1/2 cups of granulated sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 cups of cold cubed unsalted butter
- 3 large egg yolks (set whites aside)
- Peach Filling
- 5 cups of peaches sliced and peeled (I left the peel on some) about 6-7 peaches
- 3 tablespoons of lemon juice
- 1 can condensed milk
- 1 small bag sweetened coconut (about 2 cups or enough to cover a layer) -Optional
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground clove
- 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- Take a 9×13 cake pan and butter the pan before adding your parchment paper to help it stick to the pan. It’s always a pain trying to get it to stay where it needs to stay. I use enough parchment paper so I can lift the entire tray of bars out at once.
- You may even want to spray the parchment paper like I did with a non-cooking spray. Make sure you have overhang to do this on each side of the pan.
- In a bowl add all of your dry ingredients and mix with a fork
- Add in the cold butter and cut with a pastry cutter
- Add in your wet ingredients yolks and extracts and mix
- Once the dough looks like it has pea sized bits you know you are done
- Set aside about 2.5 cups of the base and then press the rest into your baking sheet making sure not to miss any corners.
- In a large bowl add the peaches, lemon juice, salt, sugar, ground cloves, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. Mix and then pour over the dough base.
- On top of the peach filling add your can of condensed milk (optional add some coconut)
- Before the bars go in the oven take the crumble that was set aside and sprinkle it on top of the bars. Make sure it is evenly distributed.
- Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until golden brown. If your oven is like mine I add a cover to prevent heavy browning or burning the last 15-20 mins so keep a watchful eye. I just put an empty baking sheet on top to cover.
- Let cool then remove the parchment paper onto a cutting board. Cutting into equal sized squares then freeze them for anytime snacks.
- Freeze up to 3 months.
- Oh, the extra egg whites make a great omelet.
To finish off my sweet peach crumble bars I topped each bar with some Honey Greek Yogurt. You can add vanilla ice-cream or whipped topping of your choice as well. Either way these bars are good on their own or topped with something delightful and creamy.
-Mr.CBB
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Dear Mr. C.B.B., I think I’m gaining weight just reading these beautiful recipes. lol. Thanks for sharing. Love your blog.
Yum, yum, yum!!!! I might think about replacing the coconut with slivered almonds for a touch of crunch, especially in the topping portion. Other fruit/flavour combos would be interesting too. Cherry/almond, pear/raspberry, pear/ginger……