Every year around this time we get loads of requests for Peach Cobbler. And after some questioning, people always explain that they like their peach cobbler with a crispy crumbly topping (as opposed to a cakey style biscuit one). So I gather that in reality, most of the requests coming in are for Peach Crisp and not Peach Cobbler. Which is great for me, because I’m a crisp girl myself. In fact, I’d say that’s one of my favorite (and most made) desserts in the summer and fall months, especially. With a good crumb topping, you can take just about any fruit and create a rustic dessert that’s very open to interpretation and adaptation and tastes heavenly piled on top of a cool bowl of ice cream. This time of year, you can usually find peaches in abundance, and for a great price. In my local stores right now, the peaches are much less expensive than apples!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Filling
- Ripe, but firm peaches – Fresh peaches, please!
- Granulated sugar – You’ll see this recipe calls for a very small amount of sugar; just enough to heighten the flavor of the natural fruit-letting those peaches be the star of the show. This recipe combats the soupy juice problem in many peach crisp recipes by macerating the peaches first. Just like you toss strawberries with sugar to create the sweet syrupy sauce for strawberry shortcake, tossing peaches with sugar draws out their juices. That way we can use just what we need and leave out the rest, producing a crisp that’s not watery at all, but instead has a light sauce and holds together nicely.
- Cornstarch
- Fresh lemon juice
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
Crumb Topping
- Old fashioned oats – Quick oats will work as well, but I prefer the rustic chewiness that old fashioned rolled oats provide.
- Brown sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Butter – Always use real butter if you can.
- Cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
How to Make Fresh Peach Crisp
- Start by peeling those peaches. After pitting and slicing, toss them with a little sugar. Let the peaches sit in a bowl for about 30 minutes, giving them a gentle toss a few times during that process. You’ll see they leach out quite a bit of peach juice.
- Place the peaches in a colander over a large bowl and drain off all the juice. Mine produced about a cup and a half of juice! We’re only going to use 1/4 cup of those juices. You can use the rest in a smoothie or toss them down the drain. Or let your kid drink it right out of bowl.
- Mix the peach juice with a little corn starch, some fresh lemon juice, and a pinch of salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss the peaches with that mixture and place it in a baking dish. I like to use a 9×9-ish pan, but anything close to that is fine. If you want to make this in a 9×13, I’d double or at least 1 1/2 the recipe as written.
- For the crumbly crisp topping, combine some oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg. Either cut in chunks of cold butter, or use a large-holed cheese grater to grate it right in. I know, it looks like shredded mozzarella. It’s not. I swear. Then use clean hands to crumble the mixture together so you have little pebbles of butter. Pour it right over the peach mixture and then bake the pan in the oven. I watch for the topping to become golden brown and toasted looking, and for some of the peach mixture to start bubbling through the edges.
- You’ll want to let it sit and cool off till it’s just warm. Fruit gets super hot when cooked, and besides burning your mouth, it will melt your ice cream if you serve it piping hot! When it’s just warm, spoon it over vanilla ice cream.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store cooled peach crisp, tightly covered, in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- You can reheat individual servings in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. For larger portions, cover loosely with foil and warm at 350°F until heated through, about 10-20 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure. It’s always going to be best straight from the oven, but feel free to make it ahead and reheat following the instructions in the Storing and Other Tips section above. You could also prep the peach filling and topping ahead of time. It’s probably best to store them separately in the refrigerator before baking so the topping doesn’t absorb the peach juice.
Yes. This recipe should work quite well with a good 1:1 gluten-free flour blend!
I recommend fresh peaches, as that’s what this recipe was designed for. However, if you’d like to try canned or frozen, feel free. For frozen peaches, I would thaw them first before following the recipe as written. For canned peaches, simply reserve some of the can juices to make your sauce.
Fresh Peach Crisp
Ingredients
Filling
- 3 ½ lbs ripe but firm peaches 6-8, peeled, pitted, and sliced into 3/4″ wedges.
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 1¼ teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Pinch salt
- pinch of cinnamon
- pinch of ground nutmeg
Crumb Topping
- 1½ cups old fashioned oats
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup flour
- 6 tablespoons cold butter
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- For peach filling, gently combine peaches and sugar in a large bowl and let stand for 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. Drain peaches in a colander set over a large bowl, reserving the peach juices. Whisk ¼ cup of the drained peach juice, cornstarch, lemon juice, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in small bowl. (You can discard the rest of the excess peach juice or toss it in a smoothie!) Toss juice mixture with peaches and transfer to an 8 or 9 inch square pan that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Any size pan that’s close to that is fine, it doesn’t need to be exact. As long as it all fits, it’s good.
- For topping, combine oats, brown sugar, flour, nutmeg, and cinnamon and either grate the cold butter with a large-hole cheese grater, or cut it into small cubes and use your fingers to crumble the mixture together. Sprinkle topping evenly over pan.
- Bake for about 30 minutes. The topping should look golden brown and crisp, and I always watch for little bubbles of peach liquid to start popping though the outside corners. Let cool to luke warm before serving. Spoon over ice cream.
Notes
- Store cooled peach crisp, tightly covered, in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- You can reheat individual servings in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. For larger portions, cover loosely with foil and warm at 350°F until heated through, about 10-20 minutes.
Questions & Reviews
Yum! This looks great! Wish I had more than one peach left in my kitchen. A tip I learned from The Pie Bible in making apple pies was to let the juices drain off then to simmer that juice until it makes a concentrated syrup which you then add back into the fruit– I bet that would be great with peaches too. I might try that soon and let you know how it works out.
the quality of my kitchen/chef life increases every time I read a recipe from you ladies. Why had I never been taught to macerate my fruit before this?! honestly! thanks for the awesome tip!
Cant wait to try this!
You and Kate’s work has improved my cooking so much. So thanks! I love America test kitchen. This is funny but I grew up watching that with my family! We still watch it all the time together- when people watch movies, we watch cooking shows. Funny huh. I stay up
Late catching up on cooking shows. Nerdy. Anyway, you and Kate were fun to listen to at time out for women last year as well. I don’t know how you guys find time to fit everything in! Good work!!
You read my mind! I’ve been looking through my books for a peach crisp recipe. All I found was peach cobbler, which I like but wanted the crumble topping. I was about to use my Apple Betty recipe, but I wouldn’t have thought about the soupy mess all the juice would have made. Thanks Sara!!
Once again … Your timing is perfect, I’m up to my eyeballs in peaches!! And I needed a dessert type peach dish for tomorrow 🙂 thank you thank you … And also loving your recipe roundup at the end including the references to your cookbooks so I know which one to look in for more ideas. I’m not sure how you girls do it … But sure grateful that you do!!
You ladies are the best!!! I just searched your sight on Friday for a Peach Crisp recipe (crisp girl myself here 🙂 The peaches at the local grocer were divine and just begging to be eaten Just. Like. This!
Mmm! I love this! It looks perfect!
Loving this! I definitely need a new baked peach recipe so this is perfect!
Yum! My family loves crisps (apple, peach, blackberry, pretty much any kind 🙂 so they will be super happy that you have reminded me to make one! I love your books, I have hard copies that are more fun for my kiddos to flip through, as well as Kindle copies so I can use them easily on my iPad in the kitchen ~ I am grateful that you ladies take the time to do your thing for all of us who love you 🙂
Christine, you’re so sweet! Thank YOU for your kindness and support!