Homemade Peach Crisp and Fresh Blueberries

I went to the store last week with the intention to make one of my husband’s favorite desserts - Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp. But alas, it was not to be so. The strawberries were super expensive and the particular store I went to wasn’t carrying rhubarb at the time. So, glumly, I looked around for another recipe “inspiration” when I spotted a ton of delicious peaches…on sale!

Now, I am sooooo glad that happened. Because this peach crisp is one of my favorite desserts! I actually ended up modifying my recipe for the strawberry rhubarb crisp and added some suggestions from my favorite peach cobbler recipe to make this one. So far, it is my best crisp recipe to date!

Later on, I will probably try and modify this to use apples in the Fall. What makes this so yummy is the light peach flavor with a robust cinnamon sugar burst and the final addition of fresh blueberries to round it out well. I can’t wait to make this one again soon!

Enjoy!



Homemade Peach Crisp and Fresh Blueberries

Ingredients:

  • 5 large peaches, pitted and sliced
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar, divided
  • 1 cup quick cooking oats
  • 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Garnish: Fresh blueberries, whipped cream (optional), vanilla ice cream (optional)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare a 8″ square baking dish by lightly coating with butter and drizzling lightly with white sugar (1/2 tablespoon)
  2. Arrange peach slices in baking dish evenly distributed and sprinkle remaning white sugar (1 tablespoon) over peach slices and then coat with 1 tablespoon flour.
  3. In a food processor - combine oats, 3 tablespoons flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice - pulse a couple time until mixed. Then add in honey, vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup butter and pulse until the mixture begins to look like crumbles.
  4. Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the peaches evenly and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
  5. Let cool for 5-10 minutes and serve with fresh blueberries. Also, serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

Grilled Peaches with a Cinnamon & Honey Glaze

Juicy, firm peaches. I ate one early on in the afternoon and the taste must have stuck. I couldn’t get the craving for another peach to go away. Of course, I was racking my brain and my cookbooks for a delicious way to cook peaches. Cobblers, pies, and tarts were my top options. Only, I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand for any of them. I was greatly lacking anything in which to bake a crust. And since I know that getting an idea out of my head is tougher than trying to jackhammer through a steel wall, I decided to come up with my own plan for yummy peach filling taste, sans the crust. My first idea attempt was a fail. I have a creme brulee set and was thinking about doing a caramelized sugar top to my peaches, but alas, my mini torch was torchless. No fire up, not even a sputter. So, on to plan B. Grilling. I doused my little peaches in lots of runny honey and sugar and spice and set to grilling away. The smell of these on the grill was so delightful, I mean borderline addicting delightful. I kept looking around to see if any of my neighbors would see my peach entranced gaze. Finally, bubbly and soft, the peaches were done. I drizzled on some honey. Man, these were delicious! My only wish would have been for a scoop of vanilla ice cream to accompany these, the smooth creamy flavor would have made these the perfect treat.

Grilled Peaches with a Cinnamon & Honey Glaze

Ingredients:

• 3 peaches, pitted and halved
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons honey

Preparation:

1. Heat grill to medium heat
2. In a small saucepan, melt butter. Gradually add in sugar, cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon of honey. Stir until melted. Remove from heat.
2. Take each peach half and poke holes in them with a fork, then place in honey mixture and cover peach generously with mixture.
3. Once all the peaches are covered in the honey mixture, place each peach half on the grill inside down. Grill for 4-5 minutes, then turn and grill other side for 4-5 minutes until cooked though. (Should be slightly soft, but not falling apart)
4. Remove from grill and place on serving plates. With the remaining honey, drizzle on top of each peach. Serve with a side scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The Fresh Fridge Tip: Fruits contain more liquids & juices so when they heat up on the grill be careful to cool them before serving. For these peaches, I cooled for about 5 minutes with the honey drizzle seeping into them then served warm. Delicious!