Peach bars are made with a soft and buttery shortbread crust layered with a sweet, juicy and jammy peach filling, topped with a crunchy, golden crumb topping. Made with fresh peaches and simple pantry ingredients, these peach crumble bars the perfect summer peach dessert.
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Why Make This Recipe
I love making cookie bars. They are a great way to make a quick and simple dessert anytime you need a sweet treat. My Strawberry Bars, Raspberry Oat Bars, Date Bars and No Bake Chocolate Oat Bars are all delicious and easy cookie bars. After making these peach shortbread bars, I think I may just have a new favorite dessert.
- Simple pantry ingredients. You only need a handful of basic ingredients to make a both the crust and crumble topping as well as the fresh peach filling for these easy peach bars.
- You love sweet and tart treats. If being incredibly easy to make wasn’t reason enough, these peach crumb bars are the perfect balance of textures and flavors. Plus, they are absolutely stunning to look at.
- The perfect summer dessert. With all the delicious flavors of summer, these peach crumble bars are easy to make and are the perfect addition to your summer potluck or gathering.
Ingredients and Substitutions
These soft and buttery peach shortbread bars require only a handful of simple ingredients to make and you probably already have them in your pantry and fridge. Here’s what you’ll need and substitutions if you are missing an ingredient.
- All Purpose Flour: To make these peach crumble bars gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Unsalted Butter: Vegan butter or plant based can also be used in place of regular unsalted butter in this recipe.
- Granulated and Light Brown Sugars: This recipe hasn’t been tested using alternative sugars. However, I love using maple sugar as a refined sugar free option in my other recipes.
- Vanilla Extract: This gives a lovely background flavor to these peach cookie bars.
- Egg Yolk: This gives the shortbread cookie crust and crumb topping a bit more chewiness. If needed, omit the egg yolk to have a crunchier cookie bar.
- Peaches: Feel free to use fresh or frozen peaches. If using frozen peaches, thaw the peaches before using in the recipe.
- Cornstarch: This helps to thicken the juices releases from the peaches. Feel free to use another thickening ingredient such as arrowroot.
Variations
- Peach Oatmeal Bars: Mix in ½ cup old fashioned or rolled oats into the dry ingredients. Follow the rest of the recipe as written.
- 9 x 13 pan: Double the original recipe. The bars may be a bit thicker and may need a few additional minutes in the oven.
- Vanilla Glaze: Mix 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar with 1 - 2 tablespoons (15 - 30 ml) milk and ½ teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth and well combined. Drizzle over the cooled peach crumble bars.
How To Make
Learn how to make peach bars in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Line an 9 x 9 pan with parchment paper along the bottom and two sides. Add the diced peaches, sugar, light brown sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract and salt to a large mixing bowl. Toss the ingredients together until the peaches are fully coated. Set aside while making the shortbread crust and crumble topping.
- Make the butter cookie crust and crumb topping by combining the flour, sugar, light brown sugar, baking powder and salt together in a food processor. Pulse 2 -3 times to combine the ingredients. Pulse in cubes of cold butter until the mixture resembles a crumble texture. Finally pulse in the egg yolk and vanilla extract until the mixture starts to clump together.
- Evenly press half of the shortbread mixture into the prepared pan. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the peach filling onto the shortbread crust. Top the peach filling with the remaining crumble mixture. Make sure to cover as much of the peach filling as much as possible, but spots of exposed filling is fine.
- Bake the fresh peach bars for 35 - 45 minutes or until the crust is a nice golden brown with edges of the crust pulling slightly away from the sides of the pan. The peach filling will thicken and bubble. Cool the peach crumble bars in the pan for 1 hour. If the bars are too soft to easily transfer from the pan after 1 hour at room temperature, transfer to the fridge to set for another hour. Once the bars are set, top with powdered sugar, vanilla glaze or enjoy as is.
How To Make Ahead, Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Make Ahead: Make the dough for the peach crumble bars up to 2 days in advance. Store the dough wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before using in the recipe.
- Store: Keep these peach cobbler bars covered in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 - 4 days.
- Freeze: Make sure the peach crumble bars with fresh peach filling are completely cooled to room temperature. Cut the bars into your preferred amount of pieces. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: Transfer the bars to the fridge to thaw overnight. Enjoy straight these easy peach bars from the fridge.
M’s Expert Tips
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in deliciously buttery crumble bars.
- Make sure to drain the excess peach filling juices. Before topping the buttery cookie crust, make sure to slightly drain any excess juice from the peach filling.
- Use an 9 x 9 metal pan. This recipe was created using an. Double the recipe and make in a 9 x 13 pan. Keep in mind that the bars will be thicker and will need a slightly longer bake time.
- Line the baking pan with parchment paper. This helps to release the peach cookie crumble bars from the pan more easily.
- Fully cool the bars. In order for these peach dessert bars to hold together, they need to fully cool. Ideally these bars would cool for 1 hour at room temperature and an hour in the fridge.
FAQs
Are peach bars gluten free?
This recipe for peach bars can be made gluten free by using gluten free flour.
Can I use frozen peaches in these crumble bars?
Frozen peaches can be used in this recipe for peach bars. Just make sure to thaw the peaches before using in the recipe.
How to prevent the peach bars from getting soggy?
Make sure to strain the peach filling juices before topping the crust, make sure to fully bake the peach dessert until the filling is bubbling and cool the peach bars.
Other Peach Dessert Recipes to Try
If you try this Peach Bars Recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! - M
Peach Bars Recipe
Soft, buttery crust, jammy peach filling topped with a sweet golden crumb, these peach bars are peak summer in every bite. They’re perfect for summer gatherings or a cozy treat at home.
Equipment
- 1 food processor optional for quickest preparation
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 knife
- 1 9 x 9 (23 cm) aluminum pan
- 1 sheet parchment paper
Ingredients
Peach Filling
- 3 cups diced peaches
- ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Crust and Crumb Topping
- 2¼ cups (270 g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (170 g) cold cubed butter
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Line an 9 x 9 pan with parchment paper along the bottom and two sides.If using fresh peaches, remove the seed and slice the peach into 8 segments. Dice the segments into ½ sized pieces. If you would like to remove the skin, make sure to peel the peaches prior to dicing them. If using frozen peaches, thaw the peaches until they are cool, no longer frozen to the touch before using in the recipe.
- Add the diced peaches, sugar, light brown sugar, cornstarch, vanilla extract and salt to a large mixing bowl. Toss the ingredients together until the peaches are fully coated. Set aside while making the shortbread crust and crumble topping.3 cups diced peaches , ¼ cup (50 g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, 2 teaspoons (10 ml) vanilla extract , ¼ teaspoon salt
- Make the butter cookie crust and crumb topping by combining the flour, sugar, light brown sugar, baking powder and salt together in a food processor. Pulse 2 -3 times to combine the ingredients. Pulse in cubes of cold butter until the mixture resembles a crumble texture. Finally pulse in the egg yolk and vanilla extract until the mixture starts to clump together.2¼ cups (270 g) all purpose flour, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt , ¾ cup (170 g) cold cubed butter, 1 large egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Evenly press half of the shortbread mixture into the prepared pan. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the peach filling onto the shortbread crust. Top the peach filling with the remaining crumble mixture. Make sure to cover as much of the peach filling as much as possible, but spots of exposed filling is fine.
- Bake the fresh peach bars for 35 - 45 minutes or until the crust is a nice golden brown with edges of the crust pulling slightly away from the sides of the pan. The peach filling will thicken and bubble.
- Cool the peach crumble bars in the pan for 1 hour. If the bars are too soft to easily transfer from the pan after 1 hour at room temperature, transfer to the fridge to set for another hour. Once the bars are set, top with powdered sugar, vanilla glaze or enjoy as is.
Notes
Make Ahead: Make the dough for the peach crumble bars up to 2 days in advance. Store the dough wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before using in the recipe.
Store: Keep these peach cobbler bars covered in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 - 4 days.
Tip: Peeling the peaches is a personal preference. The skins are edible and can add another layer of color to the peach crumb bars. However, for the soft, clean and jammy peach filling, I suggest removing the skin.
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