Add a crumble topping to any fruit dessert and you’ve made it about 10 times more appealing. Add a shortbread crust and it’s even better. Combine all this with peaches and you’ve got an extra-rich dessert that’s somehow never too sweet.
To begin making these peach crumble shortbread bars you’ll need to make the shortbread crust. Mix together the dry crust ingredients, then cut in the butter. I have found that my inexpensive pastry cutter has been so useful in the kitchen and it’s perfect for this purpose. Then add in one egg, as this helps to create a more tender shortbread.
For the peach topping you’ll need about 5 peaches diced up. The larger, yellow peaches have a nicer texture and more yield than white peaches usually do. If you cannot find fresh peaches then you can use 4 to 5 cups of frozen peaches (thawed) instead. Or you can use the same amount of canned peaches that have been thoroughly drained as another substitution.
The peaches are tossed together with sugar, cornstarch, a little lemon juice, and the special ingredient of cardamom. I find that cardamom in fruit recipes really brings the fruit to life so to speak. It enhances the flavors of fruit and gives just a little bit of subtle spice that adds a bit more flavor to each bite.
Pat most of the shortbread dough into the bottom of the baking pan and then top with the peaches. Then sprinkle on the rest of the shortbread crumbles for a streusel-like topping.
Once this is baked top it all off with a thin glaze made from confectioner’s sugar, milk, and a little almond extract. The icing sends this luscious dessert right over the top with the hint of almond. You might find that these peach crumble shortbread bars become a repeat recipe in your dessert rotation- they certainly are at my house.
Peach Crumble Shortbread Bars
Diet: Vegetarian
For the crust:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup cold butter, cubed
- 1 large egg, beaten
For the peach topping:
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
- 5 large peaches, peeled and diced (or 4-5 cups thawed frozen or drained, canned peaches instead)
- 1 tsp fresh lemon juice
For the icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 Tbsp milk
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 375˚F. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients for crust. Cut in butter until a sandy mixture forms. Add egg and stir until a crumbly dough is formed. Or you can pulse the dry ingredient mixture with the butter in a food processor and then add in the egg at the end and pulse to combine.
- In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients for the peach topping. Toss peach pieces with sugar and pour into the mixture along with the lemon juice. Take care to not mash the peaches as they can be very fragile.
- Reserve 1/ 4 cup of the crust. Press the rest of crust into a greased 9”x13” baking dish. Top with the peach mixture. Sprinkle the reserved crust over the top, breaking it up with your hands as you do. If using a glass pan lower temperature by 25˚F and bake for 50-55 minutes. If using metal pan bake for 40-45 minutes at 375˚F.
- Allow to cool completely before adding the icing. In a small bowl combine powdered sugar, milk, and almond extract. If the mixture is too runny add more sugar. If it’s too thick add some more milk.
- Drizzle icing over the bars and allow to set completely. Then cut into 2” squares.
Recipe adapted from Saving Room for Dessert.