Peach Pie Bars

Sweeten up your summer with these peach pie bars! They’re the perfect combination of peach pie & peach crisp, and boy are they delicious!

I love to eat fresh ripe peaches, or to use them in all of my favorite recipes like these Peach Pie Bars. They’re a perfect combo of pie and crisp and boy are the good! For more tasty peach recipes try Peaches and Cream Scones, Peach Cobbler, and Grilled Peaches.

Tastes of Summer

I just can’t stop eating peaches this summer. I thought that instead of making a lattice pie, I’d use up some of our ripe peaches in these golden peach pie bars. 

To start, I revisited one of my favorite fall recipes (my dulce de leche apple pie bars) to get an idea of what I needed and in what order I had to make things. The crust was flaky and crisp, the peaches were soft, sweet and flavorful, and the topping was crunchy and golden brown. Mmmmm… peachy perfection!

We sliced ours up and served them warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Our bowls were licked clean within a matter of minutes! I hope you’ll enjoy these peach pie bars as much as we did, they’re the perfect dessert to sweeten up your summer!

How to make peach bars

PREP. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan with parchment paper, set aside.

DOUGH. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the egg yolk and ice water. Slowly pour into the flour mixture, mixing until combined. Cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry blender until pea-size clumps form. Knead the dough into a ball, then pat flat and wrap with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

FILLING. Meanwhile, slice the peaches, remove the skin and combine them along with the flour, cornstarch, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and lemon juice in a large bowl, toss together to coat evenly. After the dough has chilled, roll it out into a 9×13 inch rectangle. Place in the bottom of the prepared pan.

CRUMB TOPPING. In a medium size mixing bowl, combining the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt, whisk together. Using a pastry blender, cut in the cold cubed butter until small clumps form. Pour the peach mixture into the pan over the pastry dough. Press to create an even layer. Pour the crumb topping over the peaches.

BAKE. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 35-45 minutes or until the top begins to brown. Remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool for 45 minutes before cutting and serving. The parchment paper should help prevent anything from sticking to the bottom of your pan.

Tips, Variations + Storing Info

Ripe peaches should be very soft. The skin should be a little wrinkly because that means the water has evaporated and the peach flavor has become more concentrated!

If your peaches aren’t quite ripe yet you can put them in a brown paper bag. They will ripen quicker in a closed space like that, and it will be a more natural process than any other kitchen hack.

There is a super cool trick you can use to make peeling peaches easily. Bring a pot of water to a boil, drop in a few peaches (only a few so that they aren’t touching), and boil for 30 seconds. Quickly pull them out and pop them in a bowl of ice water to stop them from cooking any further. At this point the skin should easily peel off with a gentle rub.

To make these ahead, make the dough, press it into the pan, and cover it for 24 hours before topping it with the peach mixture. Slice and peel the peaches ahead of time and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge.

STORE cooked peach bars in an airtight container for about 3 days at room temperature for up to week in the fridge.

To FREEZE these bars you should let them cool completely and then place them in an airtight container/bag for 3 months. To avoid freezer burn you can wrap each individual bar in plastic wrap before placing them in the freezer safe bag.

Other fruity bar recipes:

• Raspberry bars
• Lemon bars 
• Apple pie bars