Peach Crisp with Almond Oatmeal Topping

When you hit a peach bonanza you can splurge with recipes you might not have tried otherwise. Unless there is a pile of peaches, they need no recipe. The first thing we do with ripe peaches is to peel and eat them, at least two peaches a piece. Juice runs down all our fingers. No one stops to notice. You just hear slurps.

This season I fell heir to two lugs of fully ripe, very sweet, wonderfully flavored peaches. They even turned out to be good baking peaches. This is not the case with all of our local peach varieties. Some are delightful when eaten out of hand, but turn to goo when cooked. Having peaches in abundance, I decided to try a recipe inspired by Meg at the Red Spoon (here).

With some changes to fit our dietary specifications, I turned out this luscious baked peach concoction with a granola topping. Cutting down on the sugar that Meg used left this dish one we could actually enjoy for breakfast. What a summer treat that is — cool crisps with cream. It makes you want to hop out of bed early.

It also makes a nice desert, topped with sweetened whipped cream, as pictured.

This concept of fruit baked with a granola topping can be adapted to fit any fruit that cooks well — apples, apricots, some plums, pears, and figs. As any of these seasonal fruits comes through your kitchen, consider giving this a try.

Peach Crisp Filling Ingredients

• 4 cups sliced peaches, peeled and pitted
• 1/3 cup sucanat or a good cane sugar
• 1/2 cup spelt flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 lemon, juiced

Peach Crisp Topping

• 3/4 cups sucanat
• 3/4 cups spelt flour
• 3/4 cups oats
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 10 tablespoon soft unsalted butter
• 3/4 cups sliced almonds
• Cream for pouring or whipping

Peach Crisp Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter a 12×8 inches baking dish.
2. Place peach slices in a medium sized mixing bowl.
3. Sprinkle on the rest of the topping ingredients and gently toss to coat all the peach slices.
4. Pour the peach mixture into the buttered dish.
5. In the same mixing bowl (no need to wash it), mix all the dry ingredients.
6. Using a pastry blender, work in the softened butter.
7. Add the almonds, mix in well.
8. Spread the topping evenly over the peach mixture and bake until the peach mixture gets bubbly and the topping is beginning to brown. Mine took 45 minutes to reach this point. Yours may vary depending on the type of peach and how thickly you sliced them. Start checking at about 40 minutes.

Serve this dessert warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or heavy cream poured over the top. For breakfast, it’s fabulous with cream.