Buttery and decadent, these easy Cinnamon Spice Peach Crumb Bars with oats and brown sugar are just in time for this seasonal fruit.
Yes Friends, I’m at it again making delicious crumb bars. We can’t get enough of these super simple treats – all the fresh fruit in season is making it totally easy to justify making just one more bar recipe.
For this recipe, I started with fresh peaches and basic crumb dough, then added cinnamon and replaced part of the flour with rolled oats. You know…to make them somewhat healthy.
This recipe is so simple …. partly because the same dough is used for both the bottom crust and the topping of these bars! Buttery, crumbly and loaded with peaches…these bars are a would-be southerner’s sweet dream.
History of “the crumb bar”
Ever wondered why it’s called a “crumb bar”? Crumb toppings became popular in Britain during World War II when food rationing was a necessity. It was an economical alternative to pies because of the shortage of pastry ingredients like flour, butter and sugar. Cooks could substitute ingredients like oats and brown sugar to make an crumb mix using what they had on hand.
Crumb bars and toppings are still a favorite today because of how easy crumb toppings are to make compared to rolled pastry crusts.
How To Make Cinnamon Spice Peach Crumb Bars
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line your baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a little hanging over the edges to grab onto later to remove the bars from the pan.
- Mix up the crumb ingredients of flour, oats, brown sugar, salt and butter and then divide in half. Firmly press half the crumbs into the bottom of your baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes then set aside to cool. Stir 1 teaspoon of cinnamon into the remaining crumb mixture and set aside.
- Remove the stones from the peaches, then dice into small pieces. You can peel them or not. We just used our fingers to remove the peels after we cut them in half. To the peaches, add the sugar, vanilla, remaining 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, cornstarch and lemon juice. Stir gently to combine. Pour the peach mixture including any juices over the baked crumb crust. Sprinkle over the reserved crumb mixture, covering the peaches completely.
- Bake on the center rack of your oven for 45 – 55 minutes until starting to bubble and is golden brown on top. Cool pan on a wire rack to room temperature before cutting. For cleaner slicing, refrigerate in the pan for at least an hour before slicing.
Ingredients:
- Peaches – we used Georgia peaches to make the crumb bars, but use any variety you like or even thawed frozen peaches.
- Brown Sugar – either light or dark brown sugar is fine.
- White Sugar
- Butter – we used unsalted butter for this recipe and added salt to the recipe. If using salted butter, omit the extra salt.
- Oats – use old fashioned rolled oats, not the quick-cooking kind.
- Flour – all-purpose flour
- Vanilla Extract
- Cinnamon
- Baking Powder
- Cornstarch – flour can be substituted for the cornstarch but will result in a different flavor and texture.
- Lemon Juice – essential for keeping the peaches from turning brown.
More Sweet Bar Treats for You:
Cinnamon Spice Peach Crumb Bars
Ingredients
- 1-1/4 cups old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup brown sugar packed, light or dark brown sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks), cut into cubes
- 4 medium peaches peeled, pitted and diced
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp cinnamon divided
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line bottom and sides of an 8 x 8 or similar size pan with parchment paper.
- To a large bowl or food processor add the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt and butter. Mix or pulse until combined and dough just begins to stick together. Transfer 1/2 of the dough to the baking pan and press down into the pan with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Allow to cool.
- To the remaining dough add 1/2 of the cinnamon and toss to combine. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, place the diced peaches, sugar, vanilla, remaining cinnamon, cornstarch and lemon juice. Stir until well combined. Scrape on to cooled dough, spreading the peach mixture out to cover the baked dough completely. Sprinkle over the reserved dough, completely covering the the peaches.
- Bake in oven for 45 – 55 minutes until browned and bubbling on the sides. Remove from oven and let cool in pan. Remove from the pan using the sides of the parchment paper, cut and serve. For cleaner cutting, chill for at least 1 hour prior to cutting.
Equipment Used
Nutrition Facts
© Copyright Christine Mello for Must Love Home. We would love for you to share a link to this recipe but please do not copy/paste the recipe instructions to websites or social media. We are happy for you to share a photo with a link back to this website instead.
