These crumb-topped fruit bar cookies are the perfect use for summer peaches. Super easy, too: Just mix up the crumb ingredients in a big bowl with your hands, toss some sliced peaches with cornstarch, layer in a pan, bake. Done!
I’ve combined a couple of iterations for this buttery, crumbly bar cookie recipe, starting with Smitten Kitchen’s blueberry crumb bars and making a few alterations. A few years ago, I shared a batch of these with my late grandmother Dorothy, no meek critic of food. She, my brother and I agreed these are delicious!
peach crumb-top bar cookies recipe
(makes about 24 bars)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1 large egg, lightly beaten
5 peaches, sliced thin
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with cooking spray. In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the flour, sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Add the butter and use your fingers to work it into the dry ingredients, creating a clumpy mixture. Add the egg and use your hands to toss the mixture to combine. It will be crumbly. Transfer about 3/4 of the crumb mixture to the prepared pan and press firmly into place. In a medium bowl, toss the peach slices with the cornstarch; arrange them over the crumb base in a single layer. Use your fingers to squeeze the remaining crumb mixture into clumps and scatter them over the peaches. Bake for 35–40 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little color around the edges. Cool completely in pan before cutting into squares. Store, covered, in the refrigerator or wrap well and freeze up to 6 months.
