Anyone who knows me knows that peaches are my absolute favorite fruit! Summer is quickly coming to an end (though the heat certainly doesn’t feel like it) and I’ve been all about the stone fruits this season – what better way to incorporate them than in sweet, buttery Peach Pie Bars?
Peach Pie Bars
Ingredients
Pie Crust and Crumble
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (375g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes (226g)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Peach Filling
- 5 large peaches, peeled and diced (4-5 cups)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
Icing Drizzle
- 1 cup powdered sugar (110g) Be prepared to add a little to adjust consistency
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp whole milk Be prepared to add a little to adjust consistency
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F, and spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray (I recommend a ceramic dish, I've found it to do better with the temperature)
- To make the crust, in a medium bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon, and then whisk to combine. Add the cold cubed butter and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter, until the butter pieces are about pea-sized, and the mixture feels somewhat like coarse sand. Alternatively, you can use a food processor, just be careful not to over do it!
- Add the beaten egg and mix with a rubber spatula to combine as best you can, though you might find simply using your hand to mix works best. Once fully incorporated, the dough should still be very crumbly but hold it's shape if you grab some and squeeze it. Separate the dough into two parts, one with a bit over half the mix, and gently press the larger amount of dough into the dish. I recommend doing a bit at a time, and taking your time to make sure that the layer is flat and level. I found that using a heavy flat-bottomed glass was helpful to press the dough down evenly, and used a dough scraper to help tamp down the edges. Set aside the slightly-less-than-half amount of dough.
- For the peach filling, in a large bowl add the sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon and whisk to combine. Add the diced peaches and mix well with a spatula to fully coat the peaches. Add the lemon juice and mix to combine. Pour the peach filling mix over the tamped-down dough in the baking dish, spreading it out evenly across the dough.
- With the remaining dough, squeeze some into your hand (like the 'done-ness' test I mentioned above) and then crumble it over top of the peaches. Try to have some small clumps and some larger ones, though nothing larger than 1/2"-3/4". Crumble all the remaining dough over top of the peaches. It's ok, and even preferred, if you've got bits of peach poking out amongst the crumble top.
- Bake the pie bars for 50-55 minutes, until the peach filling is bubbling and the top is starting to lightly brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely to room temp, and then chill for at least 2 hours to set, though ideally overnight.
- When ready to cut and serve, remove from the fridge and prepare the icing. In a medium bowl, add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk. Adjust the milk and/or sugar slightly to reach your desired consistency; I recommend thicker than you might think, to where it's almost too difficult to drizzle. This will help the drizzles really hold their shape and not just blob together.
- Slice the bars into ~20 even pieces, and carefully remove before setting on a wire rack. Drizzle the icing over top of the pie bars, and enjoy!
