There’s nothing that says summer like peaches. My roommate from college had a peach tree in her yard in Big Spring. The tiny tree branches hung to the ground, heavy with gorgeous, juicy peaches. I helped harvest them one Memorial Day weekend years ago, and her aunt turned them into a luscious peach cobbler. This weekend my Belgian friend hosted a BBQ – and asked everyone to bring something. With the sun shining, temperatures warm, and promises of spending an afternoon outside just chilling and grilling, I knew a peach. . . something would be the only thing that would suffice for such a summer day. I knocked this Peach Crisp out and I must admit, it pleased the entire party – Belgians, Dutch, Americans, and Colombians gave it a thumbs up (Or rather a “lekker”, “yummy”, and a “rico”, respectively)

Preppin’

Peach filling

6 fresh peaches (or nectarines) peeled, pitted, and sliced
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
¼ cup (50 grams) white sugar
2 Tbsp flour

Topping

¾ cup (95 grams) flour
¾ cup (70 grams) rolled oats (not instant, it doesn’t work as well – trust me)
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or a few shakes of cinnamon and nutmeg will do too)
¾ cup (150 grams) brown sugar
10 Tbsp (140 grams) butter, cold and diced into small cubes
½ cup (75 grams) chopped pecans or walnuts

Preparin’

Preheat oven 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius)

Butter or spray a cast iron skillet or 9-inch (23 cm) pie pan.

Combine peaches and lemon juice in a medium sized bowl. Add sugar and flour and mix until evenly coated. Pour contents of bowl into prepared baking dish.

Combine flour, rolled oats, salt, and spices into a medium sized bowl. Add brown sugar and mix. Cut in butter using two knives, a pastry blender, or just pinch together with fingertips. The end result should be small clumps. Add nuts and combine so it also sticks to the crumble.

Spread mixture evenly over peaches in the baking dish.

Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until topping is golden brown and peaches are bubbling.

Serve warm with ice cream and enjoy your taste of summer!     

Pearl of Wisdom – Cutting in butter – Sometimes my crumbles crumble, and sometimes they just. . . seem flat. The key to a good crumble, again, it to use old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant). I tried for years to use the ‘two knife method’ – slicing like a ninja, but I recently bought a pastry blender, and found success. I rock the small tool back and forth, chopping the butter into clumps. The butter needs to be cold – I stuck the cubes in the freezer for a few minutes before going after them with the pastry blender, and my crumble really held its shape. Like all things, practice makes perfect, but also know that if it fizzles – don’t fret, it still tastes good. I know that too.