Peach Crisp

While we were in South Carolina on vacation with some of my siblings and their families, we picked up some peaches from a road side stand. There was a bowl with sample slices that were delicious. And these peaches weren't cheap. But we were in the south by golly so we bought some. Those peaches were nasty. Nasty. Shame on whoever was selling them because I'd almost bet that those yummy sample pieces must have been from Walmart or something while other grotesque bruised and flavorless peaches got thrown into our bag. Anyway, we had them and they were just about inedible plain. But we were in a condo with limited baking ingredients and utensils, so it's not like we were going to whip out a pie or something. But we had powdered sugar, brown sugar, pancake mix, butter and oatmeal. I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it was worth a shot to try a peach crisp. And it was SO good.

On the way home from our trip we stopped at a different stand with truly delicious peaches and bought a half bushel. That's a lot of a fruit that goes bad quickly. Don't worry. We did not waste them. I reproduced this cobbler (without the pancake mix because that's not a staple I've got on hand). And it was again amazingly good. My point with all of this is to say that a crisp (or crumble or whatever you want to call it) is adaptable (as you will note from the instructions below) and not easy to mess up.

Mark, pickiest human on the earth who doesn't much like oatmeal anything, could not get enough.

Peach Crisp
makes 9x13 inch pan
Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Cook time: 20-30 minutes
Cost: $6.30
peaches: 5.00, sugar: .50, butter: .50, oats: .10, flour: .20

Note: I liked using powdered sugar to coat the peaches. Powdered sugar contains a little cornstarch and therefore there's a thickening agent as the peaches heat and release their juices.

Note: This really is flexible--the amount of sugar is flexible; the amount of butter is flexible. Just be sure to taste as you go, so you feel good about it. It will only increase inawesomeness as it cooks, so if it tastes good raw, you're set.

Note: Want to add pecans or sliced almonds--go for it. It'd be awesome. Mix it in to the topping part.

6-8 peaches, peeled and sliced
4-8 Tbsp sugar (I used a combo of powdered sugar and brown sugar)

Topping:
1/2 C whole wheat flour (makes it healthy, right?)
1 C oats
1/4-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2-1 C brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
6-8 Tbsp butter

Peel peaches. Slice (and then cut once more if you wish). Add 4-8 Tbsp sugar and coat peaches. Put this in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.

Combine whole wheat flour, oats, baking soda, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter (I melt the butter to make mixing easier). Put this on top of the peach layer.

Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes or until top is lightly browned and peaches are bubbling. Yum.

PRINTABLE RECIPE