For me, summer is at least somewhat an exercise to see how much seasonal fruit I can make into crisps, cobblers, and crumbles. And the prize of all of that produce is juicy and sweet peaches. There’s just nothing like a perfectly ripe summer peach and coincidentally, there’s nothing quite like a crisp made from juice, ripe summer peaches. And if you add bourbon and brown sugar to the mix? Well, then there’s really nothing quite like it.

This Bourbon and Brown Sugar Peach Crisp feels like a crowning achievement in my summer fruit quest. It’s the kind of thing where you fall silent when you’re eating it because you just want to fully focus on the experience. It’s that good. Bourbon and brown sugar always play nicely together but here they have a way of baking up a peach’s natural sweetness that’s pretty much irresistible.

I think it’s pretty clear that I love how this crisp tastes but the other thing I love about crisps is that they’re so stupidly easy. I mean, all you have to do is cut up some fruit, toss it in some sugar and a little cornstarch or flour, and then top it with an oat-kissed streusel. I don’t think dessert can get much easier!

Here, you’re following that standard protocol, except that you’re mixing a splash of bourbon in with the fruit and using brown sugar instead of white. Lemon juice gives a little contrast and keeps the fruit looking nice while it’s at it.

The streusel topping is kicked up a little bit too with the addition of pecans. It’s not revolutionary but it’s certainly a nice addition and pecans and brown sugar (and bourbon too, as it turns out) are natural companions. And I’m all for streusel with a little added crunch.