This easy delicious peach crisp has a generous filling of fresh juicy peaches with a buttery crunchy topping spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s a summertime or early fall favourite served with ice cream or whipped cream.
As soon as the peach season starts, it goes without saying, peaches are on my list to make something delicious, and it is one of my favourite fruits. There are so many recipes you can create with peaches. I think it has to do with the fact we had an orchard for many years and at least half of the orchard were peach trees. You can do so much with peaches and it doesn’t have to be all sweet desserts. Peaches make wonderful savory dishes as well.
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
- peaches – freestone
- lemon juice
- sugar – I use fine cane sugar
- starch – either arrowroot, tapioca or cornstarch
- flour
- rolled oats
- sugar – either coconut or brown sugar
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- salt
- butter – I use unsalted butter
HELPFUL TIPS
Peaches: to remove the skin from the peaches, there are two options, one is peeling the peaches with a pair knife or dropping them in a pot of bowling water for about a minute, then transfer to a cold bath, the skins will slide off easily. This is the same method used for canning peaches.
When baking or cooking with peaches, always purchase ripe but firm freestone peaches. The reason for this is when slicing the peaches they will easily pull away from the pit. It will make life a lot easier for you. The popular varieties that are freestone are Redhaven, Harson, Starfire, Sunhaven, Harrow Beauty, Loring, Redskin, Glowingstar and Harcrest.
Starch: I use arrowroot or tapicoa starch/flour for thickening. Cornstarch is always an option.
Sweeteners: I find fresh peaches have such a natural sweetness on their own, so this recipe doesn’t require a lot of sugar. If I can change up a healthier sugar, I will. So for the topping, I add coconut sugar as the sweetener.
Spices: adding cinnamon and nutmeg to this recipe adds such a delicious blend of flavours to the peaches and rolled oats.
Oats: using rolled oats adds a little more texture then quick oats.
HOW TO MAKE THIS DELICIOUS PEACH CRISP
When baking or cooking with peaches, it’s important to look for firm yet ripe peaches. If you see any green on a peach, it means it still needs to ripen. Sometimes peaches are picked before they ripen because they are shipped from a distance. The best results for a fresh sweet peach flavour is to bake them when they are in season. I purchased these at a St. Jacob’s Farmer’s Market in Waterloo, Ontario and they are perfectly ripe to bake or cook with. The peaches should be firm yet ripe and how you would know, is can the skins peel off relatively easy. If they don’t want to peel off, then it needs more time to ripe. If peaches are soft or overripe, then they are definitely ready to use in your baking or cooking.
Peach filling is coated with the lemon juice, sugar and starch then add it to the baking dish.
Topping: blend all the ingredients well. Some recipes use cold butter rather then melting the butter. I have made this recipe both ways and I find the melted butter blends more consistently with the oats, sugar, salt and spices. The advantage of adding cold butter, it saves time.
Depending on the ripeness of the peaches, you may find there is a fair amount of juice in the baking dish after it’s baked, and that okay, it will absorb and besides it’s much more flavourful to be juicy.
Serve this delicious juicy dessert with vanilla or maple walnut ice cream or whipping cream. I served it with dairy-free vanilla ice cream. Either way, enjoy!
STORING
Store this peach crisp at room temperature covered with saran wrap for a couple of days. Then place in the refrigerator for the remaining of the time.
Fresh Peach Crisp
Equipment
- 9 x 9 inch square baking dish (or 22.9 cm x 22.9 cm)
Ingredients
Filling:
- 5 cups peaches, peeled, and sliced (8-10 medium peaches)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp raw fine cane sugar
- 2 tbsp arrowroot/tapicoa starch or cornstarch
Topping:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/3 cup coconut/brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Filling: In a large bowl, stir together peaches with lemon juice, then mix in sugar and starch of your choice until evenly coated. Pour mixture into 9 x 9 inch baking dish, or a 9 inch pie dish.
- Topping: In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, rolled oats, brown or coconut sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt until well blended. Stir in the melted butter until evenly moistened crumbs form. Spoon the topping mixture evenly over the filling.
- Bake for about 30-40 minutes, until the topping is golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
- Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream.
Nutrition
