Peach Bars

Total Time Prep: 30 min. Bake: 40 min. + cooling

Yield 2 dozen

These tasty, crumbly peach bars are somewhere between a pastry and a natural energy bar, and they're a treat you'll be glad you made during peach season.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash ground cinnamon
1 cup shortening
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 pounds peaches, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon almond extract
4 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions

Preheat oven to 375°. Whisk flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon; cut in shortening until crumbly. In another bowl, whisk egg and vanilla until blended; add to flour mixture, stirring with a fork until crumbly.
Reserve 2-1/2 cups crumb mixture for topping. Press remaining mixture onto bottom of a greased 13x9-in. baking pan.
Toss peaches with almond extract. In another bowl, mix cornstarch and remaining sugar; add to peaches and toss to coat. Spread over crust; sprinkle with reserved topping.
Bake until lightly browned and filling is bubbly, 40-45 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Nutrition Facts

1 bar: 207 calories, 9g fat (2g saturated fat), 8mg cholesterol, 73mg sodium, 30g carbohydrate (17g sugars, 1g fiber), 2g protein.

I had the most beautiful peaches and really wanted to bake with them. I started with my blueberry crumb bar recipe, and after a couple of tries, I was so happy with the results. My co-worker taste testers were, too! —Amy Burns, Newman, Illinois

Recipe Creator