If you think about it, isn’t it strange that we’ve nominated pie as our iconic summer dessert? Do understand, I say this as someone who frequently daydreams about going around the country and teaching people to make pie with a bare minimum of fuss, because I think the only thing standing between you and someone who effortlessly throws pies together because you heard someone was coming over is someone talking you through it once or twice… But I will also fully admit: pie is a pest. It requires very cold fat to be carefully worked into a floury mix until the pieces are exactly the right size. Too small, your crust is flat and crunchy. Too big, butter pools out and burns, leaving sad, tough flakes for crust. Too warm, the bits go small and absorb into the flour. Too cold, good luck rolling it out! And before you even know if the trouble will be worth it, you’ve got to roll out your crust with no holes or tears or your fruit filling will leak through and permanently glue pie-to-pan. And the fruit! Too thick, your pie cuts freakishly like Jell-O; too thin, it spills out everywhere, leaving a hollow crust in its wake. And don’t even get me started on lattice-tops. They’re for really sick people.
Given all of these high stakes, it’s a wonder we don’t all spend our summers exclusively extolling the virtues of fruit crisps and crumbles because they’re pie’s laid-back, easy-breezy sibling, the one whose arrival always brings applause. They give you nothing to carefully roll out; you just messily sprinkle the so-called “crust” over the top of the fruit, which can be thickened or not at all because if you’re not slicing it, who cares if it slumps? (And if the thought of fruit that sighs and puddles out onto a plate isn’t more appealing to you than fruit that stands up straight when you slice it, well, I beg to differ.) And the fat! Instead of asking butter to do the thing it would very least like to do on a hot day — that is, to try to stay cold — you begin by melting it.
The problem is that crumbles and crisps, when you get down to it, are really just cookie toppings. They’ve got the flour and the sugar, the pinch of salt and butter. Sometimes a little cinnamon, sometimes some oats or chopped nuts. If they were a cookie, they’d be the kind you roll out only so you could flood with colorful iced decorations — passably tasty but never, ever the first thing someone would order off a menu. (Unless it were these. Because, seriously.)
So, I got to thinking about what other cookies I’d rather dunk in a bubbling, glurping pan of baked summer fruit and when I considered pecan sandies, that was it. There was nothing to discuss. The idea of crumbling them over my peaches this weekend instead of the usual neutral cookie blend became suddenly, obviously ridiculous and I found the wait between then and telling you all about it unbearable. As in, how could I ever go back to making traditional crumbles now? (I cannot. I will not.)
I didn’t use just any pecan sandies recipe as my jumping off point, but the one I’ve shared previously on this site. Ingredient-wise, it doesn’t look much different from any other recipe out there. But in a single step — toasting those pecans until they’re dark brown on the outside, and light beige within — changes everything. Your home will be fragrant with toasted pecan oil, which is like a cross between brown butter and vanilla beans and maybe the kind of cask you would age bourbon in, in short: some sort of Smitten Kitchen heaven. Your peaches will have a little bit of everything that flatters them — sugar, lemon, nutmeg, cinnamon — but not so much that it ever upstages them. And together, well, we’re all going to be decidedly Team Crumble this July 4th, and all will be as it should.
Adieu, Google Reader: [Last announcement!] Google Reader will be shutting down at the end of the day, forever. More than 250,000 of you subscribe to the site through Google Reader, and I think it would be a huge bummer if you missed out on everything I hope to share here this summer (popsicles! sandwich slaw! mini-pies! the best barbecue chicken, ever! picnic mega-sandwiches! grilled bacon!) because of it. What can you do? 1. Google makes it very easy to download your Reader data through Google Takeout and all alternative readers make it a cinch to upload this file to import your settings. 2. But why fuss? Two alternative readers I’ve been checking out since the announcement was made, Bloglovin‘ and Feedly (and I’d argue that no reader is working harder to adopt Google Reader dumpees than Feedly!) make it even easier, letting you skip this step entirely by prompting you to ask if it can import your Google Reader feeds the moment you set up an account. Additional considerations, recommended by readers, are The Old Reader (closest, as its name suggests, to the way Google Reader once looked) and Digg Reader. All are so gorgeous and intuitive to use, you won’t be missing your retired Reader for a minute.
One year ago: Chopped Salad with Feta, Lime and Mint and a Flag Cake
Two years ago: Skirt Steak with Bloody Mary Tomato Salad
Three years ago: Zucchini and Ricotta Galette and Sour Cherry Pie with Almond Crumble
Four years ago: Chocolate Yogurt Snack Cakes and Mediterranean Pepper Salad
Five years ago: Zucchini Strand Spaghetti
Six years ago: Strawberry Chiffon Shortcake and Everyday Yellow Dal
Peach and Pecan Sandy Crumble
This crumble is a mash-up between a standard peach crumble and pecan sandies cookies. You’ll get the best pecan flavor here by toasting your nuts as deeply as you can get away with; keeping a close eye on them and not just relying on a set time will be the best way to pull this off. As is my preference, this is not a very sweet dessert; the topping is moderately sweet and the fruit base is still pretty tart with only 1/2 cup sugar for 4 pounds of fruit. Use 3/4 cup if you like a more traditional sweet-tart crumble and double it if you like sweet pies. If serving this with vanilla ice cream, as we did, however, the tartness that comes from 1/2 cup sugar will play off the sweet vanilla dreamily.
This makes a large crumble, ideal for a crowd of 12 to 15 (if served petitely). You can halve it and bake it in an 8×8, 9×9 or other 2-quart baking dish.
Pecan sandy topping
1 cup raw pecans
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons coarse sugar, such as Turbinado or Sugar in the Raw; use granulated if you have neither
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or you can use bourbon; I’ll never tell)
Filling
3 1/2 to 4 pounds peaches
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
A couple pinches of salt
Make topping: Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the nuts out in one layer on a baking sheet and bake them, stirring occasionally, until they are well browned, 10 to 13 minutes (they will smell toasted and nutty but keep an eye on them towards the end so yours do not burn). Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool.
In a food processor, coarsely chop 1/4 cup of cooled pecans, then set them aside in a small dish. Put remaining pecans (3/4 cup) in food processor along with about one-quarter of your flour (you can eyeballs this) and grind the nuts until they’re as powdery as possible. Add the remaining flour, powdered sugar, coarse sugar, salt, baking powder and pulse the machine two or three times, just to combine. Transfer dry mixture a bowl and add melted butter and vanilla. Stir this together until small and large clumps form, then stir in coarsely chopped pecans. Refrigerate until needed.
Make filling: Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Halve and pit your peaches, then cut them into chunks, smaller if they’re firm, large ones if the peaches are already soft. In the bottom of 3- to 4-quart (a 9×13, such as a deep lasagna pan, works here) works fine here) ovenproof baking dish, toss the peach chunks with sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
Remove topping from refrigerator and cover fruit thickly and evenly with topping. Bake until crumble topping is golden brown in places and fruit is bubbling and begins to creep up over the topping a little, about 40 to 50 minutes. If your topping browns too much before this happens (this doesn’t happen in my oven, but just in case) you can cover the top with foil until it is done baking.
Let cool slightly before serving, ideally with vanilla ice cream.
Oh man, you’ve done it again. I’ve never met a crumble I didn’t like…and peaches are perfection.
Really? You must have just posted this. How are there no comments yet? Looks delish!
I am definitely team crumble. I think a good crumble is very hard to beat at any time of year really but with all that ripe fruit (and ice cream), summer crumbles are really the best.
A combo of cookie dough and fruit pie filling? It’s like you know me. This looks amazing and is now in my baking queue!
I don’t know how I am going to do this without being obnoxious so I’ll just go ahead and be obnoxious. I am just too distracted by this sentence. “[T]hey’re pie’s laid-back, easy-breezy sibling, the one who’s arrival always brings applause.” Three misused apostrophes! I have always thought Smitten Kitchen was infallible in the grammar department.
OGN — SK is absolutely not infallible in the grammar department. Typos happen all of the time! (I suspect most people mistype once every 1500 words. For me, that’s once a post!) Thanks for the heads-up.
P.S. You said “apostrophes.” I only see one: who’s should be whose.
Long story cut short…. I bought peaches in a jar from West Texas last month as their peach crop was devastated by frost this year. Would you recommend using them instead of the fresh peaches? Any changes? Thanks for all your years of amazing recipes, inspiration and talent… which you share from your heart.
I have a thought (I checked the pecan sandy recipe too)- would the pecan sandy dough hold its shape so that you could make something along the lines of a graham cracker crust with it? you know, suitable for cream pies, or possibly as the base for a cheesecake? my mouth is watering just thinking about it
This sounds amazing!! I’m trying to do a low-maintenance strawberry and blueberry dessert for a 4th of July BBQ (red white and blue, so original). Do you think you could use strawberries and blueberries instead of peaches?
Shannon — I’m not sure. This is a pecan sandies dough with additional flour. It might work or it might need even more flour to be stiff enough to work as a tart dough.
Victoria — Definitely. I’d probably skip the cinnamon and nutmeg and use another tablespoon of lemon juice, plus a little bit of zest. And maybe “almond sandies”? I think almonds would go well with berries.
Wow this looks amazing! Can’t wait to make it… may have to quarter it and throw it in a loaf pan so I don’t eat it all.
This looks perfect! I just made a pie yesterday and about halfway through, wondered why I hadn’t just made a crumble. This will be on my short list!
Wow, this looks great! I love it when peach season comes around here in the northeast. Pies, crumbles, tarts…yum! I’ve just started reading your blog a couple weeks ago and have really enjoyed your writing. Great inspiration for a novice blogger like myself!
Making this with our SC peaches! It looks fabulous.
So funny! I just did a crumble as well. Much more my scene. Pies and cakes… eh. Crumbles, cobblers, galettes… yeah, that’s my jam.
I love a good crumble! I’m not big on too much sweetness in my desserts either, this sounds perfect.
I will definitely be making it as soon as we get decent peaches at the market. Made a crumble yesterday with plums and not quite stale almond macarons and it was really good. We called it “plums and crumbs.”
As one of those odd people who is as interested in grammar as in pies and crumbles, my mind is oscillating between imagining how delicious a peach crumble with pecan sandie topping would be and wondering how OGN finds three misused apostrophes in the sentence above. “Who’s” should be “whose,” yes, but the others are absolutely correct. It is a charming and evocative sentence as well. I enjoy your writing as much as, perhaps even more than, your recipes, Deb. And one typo in 1500 words?! I guess I’m a far worse typist than I had imagined. I’ve made three in this comment already!
I love this post. I am expecting a half-case of Georgia peaches on my front porch this afternoon, compliments of a dear friend. I have had peach pie on my mind all morning and this post is the last nudge I need to make my dream a reality. Thanks for the inspiration!
The peaches, the sandy topping, the cinnamon, the lemon juice, the assembly, that POUR SHOT..oh wow, I am loving it! I just made a peach cake that I’m posting tomorrow. Your crumble reminds me of what my mom used to make in the summer. It’s beautiful, Deb!
Having just made (and, mostly, consumed) a berry galette,I am looking for something to do with the remaining stick of butter in my fridge and this looks like a great choice. I had good luck subbing honey for sugar in the galette- do you think maple syrup or honey would work here, for the sugar in the filling? Because the idea of maple bourbon pecan sandy crumble is kind of blowing my mind right now.
This looks delicious! I think I’ll brown the butter in the sandies before I make it. Because as you once pointed out, once you make brown butter once, you start thinking of all the possible things you can put it in. Thanks, Deb!
How did you manage to make this without browning the butter?!
Heidi/Karin — It was so hard to restrain myself! But I a) really wanted that classic pecan sandies flavor to stand out, b) actually think that there’s so much depth of flavor in the deeply toasted pecans that you almost don’t need more. Nevertheless, I think you should do it. :)
Cookie+Pie=perfection. Love the simplicity and complexity of this all at once!
I love eating pie, but making it? No thank you! I’m all over the crisps and crumbles though – that’s what we’d always have in the summer growing up anyway!
With a very few exceptions, I’m not a fruit pie person. I find pie crust bland, dull and, more often than not, unworthy of the filling. However, I’m all about crisps (my fave treatment of stone fruits), crumbles and cobblers. So, your crumble looks like a dish worthy of those peaches.
I lovelovelove fruit crumbles like this. I used to hate the pecan sandies of my childhood, produced by elves in trees because they tasted like chalked cardboard. But this looks intriguing, and the possibility for variations are endless!
Wow, this is a wonderful idea! You’re so right about crumble/crisp toppings just being crumbled up cookies. Now I’m going to spend the next week daydreaming up other types of cookie crumble toppings for other types of fruit crisps. (Peanut butter cookie crumble over raspberries/strawberries, like PB&J…?) I’m sure none will be as delectable as what you’ve come up with. Also those peaches look gorgeous! Lovely photos as always.
This looks lovely. I make a peach crumble with a crumble topping based on gingersnaps which we love and thanks for reminding me about. I’ve been making your crumble since your book came out and while my husband devours every one I make, maybe it is time for a switch up.
I totally agree! I think crumbles are where it’s at. You get a delicious sugar bite right at the beginning, and it’s kind of a pretty messy dish so you can’t tell if it isn’t perfect. Unlike pie. Blah. Pie is so 2000 :)
I was flipping through your cookbook the other day and just fell in love. THis looks so lovely. I’ve one time made something like this for a BBQ and it was a hit
I love crumbles for the very reason you mentioned. The ease and fun of putting the many combinations together. I also enjoy fruit galette as well. I always enjoy seeing what you come up with and have had great success with all the recipes I’ve tried. :-)
This is such a great idea combining fruit and cookies into a crumble! I’ll vote yes to this over making pies any day!!
Oh those peaches! So pretty!
I’m not sure I’m ready to dismiss pies just yet- I made your sweet cherry pie last night, using your pie crust 102 and rolling out the crust 103 posts to guide me, and it was an absolute hit- thank you! But peaches are in abundance just down the road in SC, so I may need to try this tonight. Your recipes never fail me!
Gorgeous!
I’m usually all about cobbler, since it’s so easy to rest some strips of sugared pie dough over the fruit and just let it bake, but this cookie/crumble idea really intrigues me.
I could probably eat that pecan sandy topping by the spoonful. Yum!!
This looks wonderful. I’ll pick a different fruit, because I like to share (and the husband doesn’t like peaches) but it will be awesome and delicious (even if I make a slightly different topping).
This must taste divine! :-)
This is perfect for hosting summer dinners! Do you think the peach mixture would also keep in the fridge for a few hours? I love a “make ahead” dessert when I have company … I’m thinking, make ahead the fruit mix, make head the topping, store both in the fridge that day, and assemble and bake in the evening? Or do you think the lemon juice would break down the peaches too much?
My oh my, a pecan sandy topping! That looks delicious. Unfortunately, I’m not a big fan of cooked peaches (no idea why when I love them raw). Do you have any other fruit recommendations to substitute for peaches in this crumble?
I make crumbles all year round. Sometimes, I do a very simple topping — 2 parts flour and sugar to 1 part butter (whirred in the food processor), and then adding chopped nuts — walnuts or pecans — to the crumble top. Toasting the nuts really makes a difference. You can try this with mangoes either on their own or mixed with peaches or nectarines. Or really, any fruit. I often do a crumble with blueberries only, or blueberries with some sort of stone fruit. This is a go to dessert that takes very little time and always tastes delicious.
Holy Amazing, Deb. I feel like I need to leave work right this instant to go home and make this and eat the ENTIRE thing By. My. Self. This is on the July 4th roster for sure. Peaches aren’t really in season yet up north, so I’m thinking raspberries.
I love a good crumble. I think I need to try this with brown butter…I’m only slightly obsessed :).
i am all over this! i haven’t seen peaches in any of the brooklyn farmers’ markets yet though. would you mind telling me where you got yours? they look amazing!
Just saw a similar genius slab pie recipe on Food52. I have to try this!!
I was actually looking for a peach crumble recipe last week that didn’t involve another trip to the store and didn’t see one I liked so I just replaced the apples with peaches in your multigrain apple crisp recipe. I had some extra peaches after making the peach dumplings from your cookbook. The crisps were a huge hit with my friends. And the dumplings were AMAZING. We’ve been hoarding them a bit and refusing to share. But I think I’ll need to pick up some more peaches (Texas peaches are amazing by the way) and make this one to compare!
Hey Deb,
Another great looking treat. I don’t have a kitchen scale; can you guide me in terms of how many cups of diced peaches would be used in the recipe?
Thanks
Sharon — I think there are 2 to 2 1/2 cups chopped peaches in a pound, you’re looking for anywhere from 8 to 10 cups. I’d say aim larger.
Ileane — We are definitely Team Slab Pie occasionally over here too! (It’s got the peskiness, but it serves so many and is handheld, it’s great for summer.
Rachel — Absolutely. It’s probably good in the fridge for up to 48 hours. Such a great idea as you can prep the fruit in the pan and add the crumble before you bake it. Wait, can I come over?
I like the idea of going around the country teaching people to make pie—do it!
However, I do think you make it sound much too complicated. I’ve been making pies since I was a little girl. I’ve used all sorts of recipes with delicious end results (and I’m super picky about pie). Here in Guatemala I make pie by cutting the butter into the flour with my hands (yes, it warms up) and I use room temp water and it still turns out lovely. It’s really not all that complicated.
Ps. I love cobblers and crisps, too! In my house, they are often a summer supper’s main (and only) course.
Mmm looks delicious! Peaches are great in the summer and for you to make it in a crumble makes it twice as nice.
Pie is my all time favorite dessert :)
I made a slab pie for Father’s Day and cursed the conjunction of stone fruit season with hot weather, because hot weather makes pie crusts a PITA (although I used my most forgiving sour cream pie crust dough). But crumble I can ALWAYS get behind. I like to move away from the cinnamon though, which always feels fall ish to me.
I always forget about Pecan Sandies, but they used to be one of my favorite cookies! This sounds great – I’ll definitely have to make it when it finally cools down a little bit (it’s too hot for the oven now!)
mmm this is so good I’m eating it right now! It was nice that peaches were on sales today too! Thanks deb!
Look at all these beautiful peaches, absolutely lovely! Makes me wish I had a peach tree!
This is pure deliciousness!!! Peaches are so good in pies! On a completely different subject, I am in NYC this weekend and was wondering what kind of restaurants and other fun things you would suggest to do for this weekend (maybe you have a page with your favorite places and things to do in NYC?).
Julia — This page is out of date, but it lists some things I’ve liked “lately” in the city.
A cookie crust?!? *swoon*
“Easy as pie.” Where did that come from. Pies are a creaking lot of work…but they give you. Real sense of accomplishment when they turn out well.
Mmm sounds like a great summer dessert!
SUCH A perfect, simple and elegant dessert. Yes, Pie seems to have become the official summer dessert.
Fruit crumbles are going to dominate the world! They’re such an easy, perfect, delicious treat, and I love that you’re advocating their cause. And with pecans in the topping?!?! Amazing.
Perfect timing! It’s peach season here in GA, and now I know what I’m doing with my weekend haul from the market…
Usually I make a gluten-free biscuit-topped cobbler, with cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon in the peaches. This blend just sings for some reason. But pecan crumble topping? Be still, my heart, we may have a new winner. Thanks, Deb.
I love crumbles, because, as you said, they are so wonderfully easy. I don’t even need to measure anything! I can use my hands to mix the dough!
Where you lost me though, was :
“And the fat! Instead of asking butter to do the thing it would very least like to do on a hot day — that is, to try to stay cold — you begin by melting it.”
Wait. Waitwaitwait. You MELT the butter? Really?
I always made crumbles the way my mother does them, with very cold pieces of butter that need to be incorporated (by hands) in the flour till the dough looks like sand. And not too much butter, this way the dough absorbs some of the juices from the fruit when baking, making for a very gooey layer under the sandy top layer. So yummy.
But maybe that’s only the british way? So what happens when you make crumble with melted butter? Is it more… crunchy? Does the dough bake in a crust or in little nuggets? I’m curious! :)
Paw — Lots of people make crumbles with cold butter. I don’t find it necessary. Cold butter is often cut into flour to create flakiness/separated layers. But crumbles aren’t about flakiness at all; in fact, they’re often more about a soft rubble. This can be achieved with melted butter easily. And a crisp? (This is definitely one of those things where I always made mine with cold butter too and then one day decided it was too annoying and was this step really, truly necessary? It was not. Now I make them this way.)
Am I weird that I like crumbles more than regular pie? Like, I’d always choose a crumble, I don’t care if they’re maybe uglier?
Crumbles, crisps, grunts, veiled ladies…really, even the names are more exciting then pie. I believe that my daughter is coming up from Santa Barbara in a few days and bringing a flat of apricots from their organic farm. May try this out with apricots…probably have to use more sugar because those fresh apricots are always just a bit more tart then peaches, but the flavor of just picked apricots are not to be beat. Apricot season is way to short for me.
Saw the recipe around 12:30; in the oven by 4:00. Soooooo good.
Oh Deb, you did it again. I went to sleep dreaming of peaches, so what was I to do but take your recipe as a sign and make this immediately when I got home from work? The so’s “nah, i’m not in the mood for pie” quickly changed into “well, maybe just a little piece” as the irresistible aroma of peaches, pecans and butter wafted from the oven. I halved the recipe, which worked perfectly, other than having to add a bit more flour to get my crumble to, well, crumble. I prefer a tarter pie, and found the sweetness level you suggested paired just right with vanilla ice cream. I could go on, but another slice is calling me. Summer dessert perfection!
OMG!!!! I just bought some fresh peaches yesterday and didn’t know what to do with them! Now I DO! :) :) This looks super amazing!
It’s funny; my mum is the person who an hour before she has to be at a meeting decides to make a pie (and arrives a little tiny bit late, but no one cares, because pie). In a family of orchardists, pie is our go-to. So often I hear the cries of pie being too difficult and finicky, but with patience and practice it need not be intimidating! So I agree, we should all commandeer vans and drive across the continent, fixing overly complicated pies. Huzzah!
More to the topic, though, OMG peach crumble! My parents have peach trees, so when ours are ready (quite a while longer to wait, up here in Western Canada), I’ll be making this crumble – as well as the peach turnover thingy of awesome from your book. There are only so many peach pies and cobblers (even though I love them oh, so much!) a person can eat in a season.
This sounds amazing! I have to admit I love pies but don’t really like all the fuss that goes with them…that’s why crumble has immediately become on of my favorite go-to dessert when I’m craving something pie-like!
xo, Elisa
amazing post….. thanks…delicious!
That looks gorgeous! I love a good crumble and the cumblier the better :)
I love that you have added pecan into the crumble topping! This looks fabulous
I’ve always preferred a crisp or crumble to a pie…love that topping! Of course I also might add a bit of booze to mine; peaches are great with bourbon!
This is totally my kind of dessert! LOVE!
Hi, what’s your recommendation for those of us who don’t own a food processor? Or even a blender? Should I just add more regular flour?
Allie — I’d probably look for pecan meal/flour to replace the ground pecans. Everything else can be mixed/whisked by hand.
I regularly crave and then make and eat an entire pie myself (hubby says no to fruit pies like a weirdo). But they are a pain, aren’t they? For one thing, the bake time. Seriously. Waiting 90 MINUTES for the pie to cook (at least) and then those extra 10 minutes when I pretend to let it cool down. Since, for me, it’s the jammy fruit that makes the whole thing great, crumbles and crisps and every other means of creating that type of fruity goo monster are all equal in my eyes. Much faster into the tummy, and, I think, equally pretty.
All grammar aside ;) This looks great! And perfect! I needed something to take to a BBQ for the 4th and I just got peaches last week in my Boutiful Basket. I love crumbles for exactly all the reasons you described. They are so low-maintenence. Half the time I just wing the topping and don’t even measure. Thanks for this gem Deb!
Deb–you’re awesome! And as gracious as ever. Thanks for the inspiration.
OGN–I hope you’re not really as ungrateful as you sound. You’re definitely obnoxious.
Oh man I love fruit crumbles like this. The perfect summer dessert, especially if you add a big scoop of ice cream. Thanks for sharing!
wow….this just looks absolutely delicious and beautiful. What a perfect summer treat!! Great for the 4th of July!
Mmmm I want!!!! So summery!
ok, you might die. I pride myself on homemade goodness. I’ve made your homemade Oreos, I am proudly make pies from scratch, and I keep trying for the perfect brownie. (yours is DELICIOUS out of the fridge!). But for Peach Cobbler? I used boxed. cake. mix. !! I know??? This last time I didn’t even have a white box cake, (bc I don’t used box cake mix!) so I googled how to make a homemade version. Then I just pour it over the peaches and pour butter all on top. And bake it. It’s asinine I know … but it is just SO GOOD. and really way too sweet. But I am an American like that. :o)
Oooh! Love this! Why bother with lattice topped pies!
Just wanted to share that I often substitute Grape Nuts for real nuts in recipes like this. The mister is allergic to all tree nuts so I have to improvise quite a bit. While Grape Nuts don’t add the flavor of pecans (which I do miss terribly), they add a nice crunch without sending anyone to the emergency room.
Cobblers. Just thought I would throw that idea in there, as I tend to like more doughiness than crispiness with softer summer fruit. (Apples, pears and rhubarb need crisp.) That said, I can’t wait to try this, as the pecan sandy and peach combination sounds delightful. I try to eat very locally, though, so it will be a ew more weeks before we have peaches. Thanks!
Lately we are obsessed with white peaches. They are very fragile, but SO delicious. I’m not doing any baking–just enjoying sliced with raw oatmeal and a bit of granola for breakfast each morning, sometimes topped with blueberries as well. Grrreat way to start the day!
I am now craving a pecan sandie something fierce! My favorite type of crumble/crisp is strawberry. Yum!!
Deb, this New York Times article was positively written for you!:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/03/dining/in-search-of-the-sonker-a-sweet-denizen-of-surry-county-nc.html?hp&_r=0
It’s a wonderfully nonsensical catalogue of all of your favorite baked-fruit-confection-related words!
Becka — It was! I was going to dig into it later. Can’t wait. Sonkersonkersonkersonker…
Call me crazy, but the fruit pictured looks suspiciously like nectarines, yes?
my mango tree is going crazy; i’m making this w/some of my overflowing fruit basket. thx
Hi Deb! I loved checking out your Good Reads section. Will that be replaced with anything now that Google Reader is gone?
This sounds amazing… but, alas, down here in Texas, I all but stop using my oven from June through September. Everything must be cooked on the grill, in the crockpot, or, if necessary stove-top, to minimize how much I heat up the house. So, any grilling suggestions?
It appears that you didn’t peel your peaches. Wasn’t that fuzzy or something?
I’m going to cut the recipe in half but I have to wait a few days because the peaches are rocks at the moment.
Katie — No, the skins aren’t noticeable at all in the end, and they impart that gorgeous red/rust color. I do sometimes peel peaches but was afraid here it would just be like canned peaches underneath — slippery and monotone.
Emily — You’re quick to notice! I am going to take down the page for a bit and put it back up when I come up with something new. I’d been hoping to redo it for a while; I often felt (oh goodness this sounds terrible) like I couldn’t unsubscribe from a blog I no longer was interested in reading because they might notice? So the list became (just a little) stale and no longer as reflective of my current reads. And yet, a lot of people asked me when I was on book tour what other food blogs I like and I would really love to share all the wonderful sites I impatiently wait for them to update again. Because there are so many great ones out there. And, about every six months I go through the folder of links people have suggested by email and often add a few new ones, which is fun for me too. Wow, this was a long answer. Short answer: something new soon. :)
Lynne — They don’t look fuzzy to you? I always find these Jersey peaches to be especially… dramatic, heh, in the fuzz department.
I know I will adore this a I love fruit and the crumble will be my favorite part!
I was so in love with this post when I started reading. How poetic, I thought. Until you casually referred to most decorated sugar cookies as “passably tasty but never, ever the first thing someone would order off a menu.” :( An unnecessary jab at best..downright hurtful at its worst. Yes, I love One Tough Cookie as much as the next cookier, but there are lots of us out there, and we labor very hard to produce those little works of art that you call “passably tasty”. It’s a misconception that cookiers fight all the time; we know many bakeries and supermarkets sell crap sugar cookies, and people don’t know better so they lump ours in with those, and it leads to our work being greatly unappreciated. I’m sure this wasn’t your intention, so I hope you take this as an opportunity to maybe try some more sugar cookies- I’d be glad to send you some- (or, hey- come up with a new, even tastier, recipe for us! Something you’d order off a menu….) instead of letting your opinion of them remain so low.
oh Deb. It’s in the oven now, and luckily (?) my apartment is small enough that I can smell the pecans and peaches through the whole apartment. It’s taking all my willpower not to pull it out of the oven now and start
I loved the idea of being able to make crumble with melted butter (rather than cutting cold butter in). However, I had a bit of trouble–it turned out rather wet and sticky, and I ended up adding lots more flour, sticking it in the fridge for awhile, and then “tossing” it with a fork!
I still have some peach quarters I froze late last summer. Do you think they would be an OK substitute for fresh? It would save me some prep time and would be a yummy ending for the peaches! Thanks for the great recipe.
Question–where does the turbinado sugar come in?? I assume it goes in with the powdered sugar…?
Just made this last night, it was delicious! I added in some plums because I didn’t have enough fruit, and halved the recipe, but otherwise kept everything as is. The fruit was perfectly tart and it took a lot of willpower to not finish off the whole thing between the two of us at the table…
One question – my crumble wasn’t very…crumbly. It was much closer to the big crumb coffee cake style of crumb than to what I see in your photos. This is not a bad thing – just wondering if you have a thought about what I might do differently next time. Thanks!
This peach and pecan sandy crumble looks great and is very delicious!
Peach desserts are one of my top favorites. I will try this recipe. When I make peach cobblers {not quite the same as a crumble I know} I cheat and just drain cans of peaches and just dump the topping on them as is- ! Horrible I know. Yes. I melt some butter in the dish and just add in the drained, canned peaches, put the topping on and bake. And it’s always a bit soggy inside. I am sometimes sloppy when cooking for myself…however this recipe of yours has me wanting to get my dignity back !
Can I make it without a food processor do you think ?
This might be the first crumble I ever make!
I loooove pecan sandies….. as if you turned it into a crumble!! nice!
Cannot wait to make this when the local peaches hit! Maybe combined with raspberries if the chipmunks don’t eat all of mine before I get them.
Just an amazing taste-combo to suggest: peaches are incredible with a little orange flower water. It makes them taste like honeysuckle. Not sure if it’d work in this, as it might be weird with the pecans, but something to try. We learned it from a mediterranean restaurant that made canned peaches taste like ambrosia…
Oh my nectarine. (Peach. Yeah.) Deb, you’ve hit a home run again- as prettymuch always. Crumbles are so awesome! Have any ideas for a better cookie-stuff to put on top of a raspberry crumble- you know, to tide me over until the peaches get here? Thanks for your great ideas!
Any suggestions for making the crumble topping gluten free? Just found out a family of people with celiac are going to be stopping by tomorrow. Would ground almonds be an acceptable substitute?
Also, how far in advance could this be prepared?
Perhaps it’s there but I am missing it! you call for 2T of coarse sugar in the ingredients list for the topping but dont include it in the instructions? i’m making this right now so i’m just going to add it in with the powdered sugar….
Deb – your comment: “someone who frequently daydreams about going around the country and teaching people to make pie with a bare minimum of fuss” reminded me of Beth Howard’s memoir – Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie, in which she does just that. Her website is theworldneedsmorepie.com. Thanks for your obsession with food, from which all of us readers, my family and friends and everyone to whom I forward your posts, benefits. Thanks for making a stop in Louisville, KY, on your book tour!
Hi Deb! Could I use a combo of yellow and white peaches? I really love the white ones and would love to bake with them!
Aylah — Of course! It would be pretty.
Ann — Thanks, I’ll check it out.
Amy — Cast iron — no! Sorry, didn’t mean to yell. Cast iron looks pretty but it reacts with acidity in fruit and discolors it and can even make it taste bitter. Unless it’s enameled cast iron (such as Le Crueset or the like), in which case, carry on.
Connie — Whoops! You can add it… actually at any point, but I will add to the steps to reduce confusion. Thanks.
Joe — I would expect any gluten free flour mix intended for baking to work well here.
Big crowd tomorrow and no peaches in season in Central New York – so I’m using plums and nectarines, doubling the recipe and baking it in a cast iron frying pan. Wish me luck! Happy 4th everyone!
If you would like more information about sonkers, there is a recipe for sweet potato sonker in Cook’s Country October/November 2011. I have wanted to try it for some time now but will wait until autumn when sweet potato dishes sound so much more appealing.
Whoops, that’s right. Remind me to never try that grammar nazi thing when running on a sleep deficit. In any case, I always enjoy your writing!
I like to make my pie crusts with oil instead of solid fat… once you learn how it should look, it’s much easier in this hot weather!
This looks fabulous though – must make ASAP!
Hmm… My crumble topping turned into a very wet dough. I’m Hopi I can add flour and/or toss with a fork, as one commenter suggested. I’m on the fence about trying again. Any idea what the problem is?
Whitney and others that are finding the topping too wet — Yikes, I’m sorry you had trouble. Add another 1/4 cup flour. I didn’t find I needed, but had it nearby because I’d expected to need a little more to get the mixture crumbly.
Lest OGN smite me, that last commented should say, “I’m hoping I can add…” Darn you, awkward autocorrect!
Pie is a pest, and I tend to take a very laid-back attitude to it. But it is also so hard to get the sweetness just right, because you have to judge exactly how much sugar this exact batch of fruit wants and needs.
I’m all about crisps and slumps and brown betties. And I’ve also given myself over to the glories of refrigerated pie crust because it just takes so much of the horror out of committing to pie.
Hi Whitney, sounds like a recipe I have called Indiana crumb top apple pie. That dough is a cross between a biscuit ( cookie) to you, and a cake batter, in other words toowet to roll out, too heavy for cake. Anyway, you just daub it all over the fruit with your fingers, great fun. It cooks all crispy and golden and reminds me ever so slightly of bubbles of popcorn.xxx. I can,t wait to trythis recipe, it sounds lush. I live in the uk and have only recently found Smitten Kitten thanks to my friends on the Amazon cooking forum and I just love it.xxx
Made this last night- can’t get over the beautiful pink-orange color the peaches turned. Delicious and easy!
Thanks, Deb! I made it again with more flour, and the crumble came out perfectly! Can’t wait to serve this with maple ice cream later today.
I made this using almonds. I just slightly crushed some sliced almonds for the chunky portion so it would still be tender. I omitted the spices and used a combo of vanilla and a tiny touch of almond extract. Delicious!
yum I never thought to use ground up pecans in my crumble toppings, sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it!
This looks amazing! I wish my family didn’t hate pecans. FYI: I made the plum & poppyseed muffins from your book last night and they are truly the best muffins I’ve ever tasted! :) Thanks Deb!
Quick question! I just made this for our holiday cookout but I’m waiting to bake it until our company comes (so it will be all nice and warm!!). Anyways, the topping seems much more like cookie dough than crumble. I was a little generous in my vanilla measuring, but otherwise followed the instructions. Was your topping like this? It looks more crumbly in the pic, but I’m not sure! I have some time to add more flour/nuts if you think it’s necessary! Thanks for another great recipe!!
Oh no — just saw that you replied to this same question! Sorry — I hadn’t refreshed the page since last night when I made my shopping list!
I am desperate to make this, but would be the only one eating it, so this one will have to wait.
I have to ask, what happened to the lightly charred spatula? Can also throw out there how completely awesome you are for using it and photographing it.
You rock!
Deb, in honor of Independence Day (and because conveniently, I had the patriotic fruit on hand) I swapped the peaches for strawberries and blueberries. I baked up the crumble in ramekins (which happen to be red – my I’m feeling festive!). And oh goodness – the pecan sandy – made with browned butter – is dancing-in-my-kitchen delicious. Happy Fourth!
I have made this three times already since you posted the recipe and I plan to make it again on Sunday, except I used apricots from my tree instead of peaches – and one time I used a mixture of apricots and strawberries. It is SO DELICIOUS. I have eaten a total of 2 crumbles basically by myself. I’m getting married next weekend and I might not fit into my dress after this!!
Hi Deb, I’m a long time reader, first time poster. I made your pecan sandy recipe, but substituted walnuts for the pecans (only because I had a fresh bag of walnuts begging to be eaten) and browned the butter. It was a hit at the July 4th BBQ that I attended. I’ve been using Dorie Greenspan’s oatmeal crumble recipe for years and never thought I would stray. I’ve strayed and with no regrets! Thanks!
that looks AMAZING, I love a crisp or a crumble, with drippy vanilla ice cream on top, and pecan sandy on top? Genius!
This was amazing – so tasty and so easy! Perfect dessert.
Easy and great recipe again. Made the whole recipe and split it into two 9 X1.5 inch round pans for separate barbecue and fireworks parties yesterday. Everybody loved it! My only concern: the peach filling was a bit too gelatinous without any juices; I’m pretty sure I used only the 3 tablespoons of cornstarch as the recipe said. Should I have reduced that when I was splitting the recipe into 2 shallow baking pans?
LOVE this recipe! Quite SIMPLE! Because I have 2 broken wrists, I had to maneuver my husband through this. It was fine. I worked on the food processor while he cut the peaches. We ended up a 1/2 peach mixture and a full topping mixture. We put it in a 9×9 pan and it turned out great. I didn’t feel too guilty… the original cobbler recipe I had called for the same amount of butter and more sugar. I thought the peach flavor was great, but maybe a little thick as Veena mentioned above. I think it was the peaches. The peaches were not “drip down your chin” juicy. Anyway thanks for the recipe. I had been searching for a few days, then this magically appeared in my e-mails.
Although it’s possible I went a little overboard, I served two Smitten Kitchen desserts (this and the browned butter rice krispies from your book) and an appetizer (your hummus, which is TO DIE FOR) at our July 4th party yesterday, and oh dear lord. This recipe was so freaking fabulous. I’ve got leftovers in the fridge calling my name and I’m seriously thinking about having them for lunch. You rock, Deb. Your recipes have never let me down!!
Made this yesterday and my guests and I LOVED it. I actually had people begging to take some of the leftovers home!
I’ll admit though I kind of missed the crunchiness of other crisps I’ve had. Next time I’ll probably just stir in oats and at least another third to half cup of coarsely chopped nuts – do you think I’d have to adjust any of the other quantities? Like cut back on the flour a bit?
This turned out simply amazing!!! Thank you for another great recipe!
This looks amazing! Awesome idea…
BTW, I ‘ve switched to NewsBlur and you came right with me!
I’ve been looking for a simple, tasty and satisfying peach recipe for a few weeks now and I think I’ve just found it! I think I’ll team it with a little homemade custard- yum! Thank you!
This was really a hit! I added half a pint of blueberries which were about to give up the ghost. The only change I would make is to add more of chopped pecans, but I’m a person who really likes crunch.
I just have to tell you how much I enjoy your writing. Don’t get me wrong, I love your recipes as well, and they’re always giving me something new to add to my long list of kitchen experiments, but your prose is charming and somehow a bit ethereal without being pretentious, which is an unbelievably tough target to hit. So thanks for being my daily mini-retreat into gently thoughtful language! I’m an English lit nerd turned law student. Not a lot of charming language to be found while bar studying!
Oh wow, crumbles! I never had one like these in a long time, but I enjoy eating it every time. The peaches are just perfect for summer. It’s a wonderful summer pie! My kudos to you.
I will surely try pecan sandy crumble next weekend. It surely will add a great change to my menu.The recipe is easy to follow and well explained. Thanks for providing a wonderful food resource here. Cheers!
As I said per comment #69, I tried this with apricots and almonds and it was so good. I increased the sugar in the fruit filling slightly because apricots can be a bit tart, and when it came out, all bubbly and brown and we ate it with vanilla ice cream, all was right with the world. Thanks for another great recipe!
Ironically, I just made two pies from cherries and rhubarb I picked yesterday. But normally, I’m totally with you. Pies are fussy, even for someone who can make a pie crust without looking at recipe and instruction. In the summer, I’m all about the crumble. Mine is even less fussy. I blend butter (which is soft by the time I’m done) with sugar and a bit of salt. Then cut in a bit of flour, but not as much as for a pie crust. It’s kind of the consistence of shortbread cookies. I mash it together into a log and then crumble onto my fruit. The mashing and then crumbling allows for some big chunks of crumble — which of course you need so you know which section to serve yourself. Sometimes, I don’t even add sugar to the fruit because I figure I get enough sugar in the topping and most fresh, ripe fruit tastes good without it.
Delish! I LOVE pecan sandies, so this was a wonderful addition to my pile of peaches. Thanks for another great recipe!
I made this last night with fresh peaches and blueberries. I wanted it to be the best crumble EVER, but…don’t get me wrong, it was very tasty. But as others have said, it might be missing a bit of the crunchiness of other recipes I’ve used. I love pecans so next time would put more in. My crumble to fruit ratio might have been off as well, as overall we thought it was a little dry.
I was in a vacation house kitchen with no powdered sugar for the crumble – so I just upped the regular sugar a few tablespoons (and omitted the nutmeg), none of which could alter the genius of the ground toasted pecans. It was incredible and I’m making it again tonight. Thank you!!!
Just made this for a party yesterday. Wow. I was a bit worried about leaving the skins on, but they aren’t noticeable and they made it such a lovely color. The topping is perfect – don’t skip the oven toasting step as it makes all the difference.
I made this recipe for our weekend at the cabin with friends. Rave reviews! It smelled so good while baking, too. Another winner, Deb. Thanks!
Deb, I have been following your blog for some time. I have enjoyed your truly wonderful photos and recipes.It was your wedding cake posts that helped me create one for my brother.I have just constructed a tutorial for my cookie blog..can I just say ..Oh my Gosh..how on earth do you make, photograph and blog it all..A.lot.of.work..well done..I take my hat off to you!
I made this over the weekend for a family get-together! I opted for a gluten free version – the recipe worked perfectly! It was a great hit with everyone – thanks for another wonderful recipe!
I made this last night and everyone loved it. I didn’t have powdered sugar, so used regular sugar. I might add more chopped pecans to the crumble next time for a bit more crunch. All in all, one of the best crumble toppings for a cobbler that I have ever had! I added some blueberries and blackberries with the peaches. I didn’t have cornstarch, so I used flour in the filling part instead. It didn’t turn out runny at all – perfect consistency.
I used this recipe with frozen Fredericksburg, TX, peaches from last year, and it turned out superb enough to have a weekend guest beg to take some home with her! Since the peaches were put up with sugar already (actually ready for peach daiquiris), I just proceeded with the rest of the filling ingredients minus the sugar. I also had fresh pecans harvested from a relative. It was an amazing taste combo! This has been the best of all the recipes of yours that I’ve tried.
Help! I made this last night — it is amazing — but there are only two of us and, sadly, we are both too old to eat it all. What do you think about freezing the leftover? Cut up into pieces or intact? Thank you!
I think it’s terrific that the same person who gave us gushworthy galette dough (see Butternut and Caramelized Onion galette in the cookbook) also extols the virtues of a crumble like this. I went ahead, gilded the nutty lily, and browned the butter. Fabulous flavor contrast and textures. Will be a repeat performer.
Yum! Crisps and crumbles are the best summer desserts, so simple and such a great way to showcase seasonal fruits. I just picked some peaches at an orchard in NJ, and I also love pecan sandies, so I will have to try this out soon! Thanks for the recipe!
Made this for the holiday weekend and good GOD was it delicious. I’m still eating leftovers. Often right out of the original dish which I’m claiming is my God-given prerogative at 38 1/2 weeks pregnant. I had a mix of super ripe and somewhat ripe peaches but it didn’t seem to matter at all. I took my mom’s cue (she made the recipe on the 4th) to make sure my pecans got really brown to impart maximum flavor and I think that did help. I’m so NOT a baker and will generally avoid any recipe involving dough, so this is the perfect thing to have on hand for summer. Peaches plus pecans? Yes please. Served hot with some vanilla bean ice cream and I was in heaven. I agree with Marilyn H (#162)–one of your best recipes to date!
This sounds delicious; can’t wait to try it!
Being English we like our crumbles but I have to say, I think I prefer this crumble topping to the traditional English style one. Now we’re living abroad, local peaches are in season and so when I saw this recipe I just had to try it. Easier and much tastier than the recipes I usually follow. Thanks again. Tonight I’m making your Tomatoe Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches so I hope they’re as big a hit as the other 2 Smitten Kitchen Recipes I’ve used this week.
I just bought some farm peaches today & made this. Heaven on a plate!!! I can’t wait for my husband to try some. I’m glad I didn’t have any ice cream because then I’d probably eat the whole thing in one sitting.
This looks very tasty and it’s easily converted to a vegan option. I can’t wait to make this.
Made this last night. It was really yummy. My husband had three bowls of it, he loved it so much. Roasting pecans and adding them to the topping is a stroke of genius, Deb. I found it difficult not to nibble on the pecan topping while it was still uncooked. :)
Thanks!! My daughter and I just made this, following the recipe which is an unusual thing, and it is fabulous!!!! Peerfect accompaniment home made frozen yougurt.
In the oven right now! Can’t wait to gobble this one up, unfortunately my family is also home:)
This was delicious as in crazy delicious!! Made it tonight for my daughter’s welcome home party. I used the last pecans I brought home from Georgia, so it was a close to perfect tribute to The Peach state. I served it with vanilla yoghurt but preferred the clear peach-pecan flavour myself. I hadn’t seen the note on how many this recipe would feed, so lots of leftovers – but we’ll eat those for breakfast tomorrow!! PS. I was out of vanilla extract, so…
Despite my efforts – I subbed palm sugar and maple syrup for sugars – mine came out way too sweet for our tastes (I think that I mis-measured). But this led to a lovely breakfast of crisp with plain whole milk yogurt. A happy accident indeed!
I actually usually don’t bake with peaches, because if they’re great peaches I’d almost rather eat them plain than possibly be underwhelmed with them in a so-so dessert. But I suspected this would be worth the great peaches at perfect ripeness I finally had in my kitchen today… and it totally was. Wonderful! Can’t wait to have seconds later tonight! :)
I think I have to use this topping on the peach pie recipe that you posted in 2012. Whoohoo, this is very exciting as a heatwave just broke in Montreal and I can finally bake!!!
Wow! Just had a helping – OK two – of this. It is AMAZING! I tend to lean towards the lazy side in cooking, but this wasn’t too hard and worth every bit of effort. I’ve made a cobbler with canned peaches before and it’s nice but much sweeter and doesn’t have the flavor of this one at all or the great texture of this topping. Love your recipies and your blog!
Just popped this in the oven. Used peaches from Spain’s Calanda region which are just coming in and normal would refuse to A) turn oven on in 40 degree heat B) Bake beautiful summer fruit, which is just lovely and refresehing with nothing elsedoing, but I could not resist trying this (plus had some pecans to use up). Obviously need to taste it first(secretly tried some raw dough, so yummy), but just judging by the smells wafting through apartment I know it’ll be so worth it . Well done on another fab recipe.
Made it, ate it, loved it! We found that we actually preferred it cold, the next day. Okay, the next morning. I’m 9 months pregnant so just about anything is breakfast. :)
Love this recipe: easy to make and so delish; peaches and pecans are favorites in this house; can imagine changing it up with different fruit (added blackberries to the peaches with great success already); we ate 1/2 over 2 days and I froze the other 1/2 for a treat in the very near future. The only hint of letdown was the somewhat mushy nature of the topping: perhaps I expected it to be a bit crunchy and it just isn’t meant to be, or the substitution of whole wheat flour for half the flour called for was a mistake on my part, or maybe it should’ve baked longer…hmmm, any feedback for me? It was still a big hit, thank you!
Just ate cold leftovers..crumble topping which yesterday had just the right amountif crunch, has now changed into a very thick biscuit..bit difficult to eat..maybe I should have spread it more evenly..oh we’ll, just another excuse to get it another go
crisps are the best! They can even be made in the slow cooker with the lid ajar.
I often do a gingersnap or spice cookie flavored topping on pears, using really dark brown sugar, oats, butter and powdered ginger, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. And a good hit of salt. Pears are so sweet they hardly need any sweetening at all.
Just made a modified version so that I could share it with a vegan friend. I substituted coconut oil for the equivalent amount of butter and added about 1/8 cup extra flour as the topping was a little wet. It turned out beautifully! I served it with some lightly sweetened vanilla bean yogurt for the non-vegans. It was a huge hit at our moms’ group potluck brunch: between the six of us, we devoured all but a couple of servings! Thanks for yet another wonderful recipe, Deb.
I made this tonight and substituted tapioca starch for corn starch. I also used a mix of almond flour, whole wheat pastry flour, and white flour in the topping. Lime and lemon juice with the fruit. Yum!
I’m making peach crisp for a crowd of 100 for my sister’s going away party. How would you describe the filling of this crumble after it has baked and set for a while? Very juicy/runny? Somewhat set? Or should I add a bit more corn starch? I plan on making a test batch, but I was curious how you would describe it. Thanks!
Ellen — It’s not very runny; I wouldn’t add more starch. Technically speaking, crisps and crumbles don’t really need any starch (you don’t need to slice them) so no need to thicken it further. (P.S. Lucky sister!)
Also, I LOVE that you did not peel the peaches for this. Did it effect the texture at all, or were the peelings not really noticeable after their date with the oven?
Oops, I see where you already answered the skin question.
Wanted a peach dessert to take to our weekly family dinner at my inlaw’s. My husband wanted pie, but I wasn’t up for the fuss. Decided to search SK site and found this wonderful recipe – and I had everything I needed! It was a HUGE hit and I was told it was a definite keeper, so I’m printing out the recipe now to add to my personal “keeper” cookbook. Thanks Deb – you never let me down!
P.S. I have a bag of macadamia nuts in my freezer, and I was very tempted to switch out the pecans for macadamia nuts. Think this would work? Also thinking this would be good with apples/pears come fall…the possibilities seem endless, thank goodness!
Jill — I am sure macadamias would be delicious here.
Just pulled this out of the oven. Going to a dinner party tonight with about 10 people so I figured a lasagna dish full of pecan sandy peach crisp would be perfect.
I couldn’t RESIST – I just took a taste of one lone peach sticking up on the side of the pan with a thumbnail crumb of topping. HOLY SMOKES! I know this is going to be sensational tonight when I finish heating it up at the guest’s house.
If anything, I wish the pecan sandy topping made a little bit more topping. I like more cookie to fruit ratio, personally. Also want to add I was hesitant how my crisp would taste because while cutting up the peaches, we tasted a slice, and it tasted pretty mild and not the greatest juiciest sweetest peach. However once baked, they tasted amazing so this crisp is great for fruit that may not be at its prime.
Deb, you’ve misnamed this. It should not be Peach and Pecan Sandy Crumble. It should be called Peach and Pecan Sandy Magnificence. The one change I made was to add a couple of tablespoons or so of peach schnapps to the filling mixture (and I minused one tbsp of the lemon juice). I used vanilla, not bourbon, in the topping. Obviously, flavorful peaches are key, but the schnapps didn’t hurt. This dessert with humble origins would be fit for royalty. That is, if there were any leftovers, which there won’t be.
I made this the other day, but substituted almonds for the pecans (blasphemy?). It was delicious!
Just ate a bowl of this – warm, drizzled with cream – while sitting on our covered porch, neslted in a blanket, watching a storm over the lake. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven…the sweetness of the peaches, gently offset by a hint of nutmeg. Best peach crumble I’ve ever made! Thanks for the recipes and the inspiration…you’re the best!
This was SO SO SO amazing!! Best crisp ev-ah!!
I have now made this several times since Colorado peach season. I made this dairy- and gluten-free (Earth Balance spread and any nice GF flour blend seems to work) and when peach season ended, switched to frozen peaches. Added frozen raspberries – now there is a wonderful fruit combination. My teenage son devours this every time I make it – even though he is not a dairy- or gluten-free eater or fan. So much easier than trying to make a gluten-free pie crust. It tastes wonderful and gets some fruit into my kid. The recipe is very forgiving and allows for adaptations, such as: adding raspberries, increasing the amount of topping, adding oats to the topping, and making without a food processor. Would make a great Thanksgiving dessert alternative to pies. Thanks!
This was a huge hit for Fathers Day! Everyone loved it! I followed the recipe exactly and the consistency of the filling was perfect. The topping was so good I could eat it with ice cream alone! I am going to experiment with other fruits as they come into season.
Do you think this would work as a bar cookie, if I doubled the topping recipe and pressed half of it firmly into the bottom of the pan? Would the peaches need more cornstarch not to run all over if cut? I’d love to make it but don’t want to mess with bowls/spoons/etc. (I’ve made your peach shortbread and it was good, but I have high hopes for this.)
This recipe was superb!!! One of the best things I’ve ever made. I’m still in awe. I’ll never go back to regular peach cobbler again! I served it with whipped cream spiked with bourbon, and it went quite nicely. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hi Deb,
I am going to make a double recipe today, and hopefully freeze one of the crisps. Do you think it would be ok to freeze this?
Thanks!
I have a freezer question as well- First made this last summer and LOVED it so much. Have adapted to an easier version when I’m feeling lazy by using almond meal as opposed to toasting and grinding the nuts. Anyhoo peaches are back in season and I’d love to enjoy this in the winter, any tips on freezing???? Anyone tried it successfully?
Just made this with nectarines and it was absolutely fabulous! Another excellent “go to” recipe.
I just stumbled across you this morning while looking for a new peach butter recipe. So glad I found you. I love your Peach Butter Recipe and I do can it. There is something so decadent about something that reminds you of tree ripened peaches in the dead of winter. Peach Soup over our waffles with sweet cream is a Christmas morning favorite as is Peach Butter on a freshly baked scone when the snow is up to you woo hoo. I will be checking back often.
Someone brought this to a picnic this week and I thought it was the best crisp ever! She emailed me the recipe and I made it yesterday – yum. I had some crisp leftover from Ottolengi’s cherry crisp (http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/sweet-and-salty-cheesecake-with-cherries-and-crumble-shop) which I added; I did have some problems with putting the topping on due to my stringent quality control measures – if I didn’t taste, who would? Love it!
This is a summer staple for us. We still make it often and we’ve always served it with vanilla or vanilla bean ice cream. I’ve played around with the proportions of different ingredients a lot, and the only one that’s truly stuck is I always use more pecans; I find I’m not able to cover the crumble with a thick enough (to my liking) topping layer if I don’t use at least 1 1/2 cups for a 9 x 13 baking dish. But I’ve followed the recipe exactly as well and it always turns out delicious.
So I browned the butter for a large batch of this crumble topping, and then sprinkled it all over peaches tucked into a sheet-pan sized batch of pie dough. Brown butter pecan sandy crumble peach slab pie. EVERYONE AT THE BLOCK PARTY HATED IT IT WAS JUST TERRIBLE.
Your peach pie recipe with this crumble topping is the best of both the pie and crumble worlds! Worth the time and definitely worth the calories. Thanks Deb!
Hi Deb! I’ve been a huge fan for years, and finally mastered pie crust with your recipes and tutorial! I wanted to make your peach pie, but with this pecan sandy crumble on top instead of the lattice crust. What do you suggest for the baking temp/time? Thank you! Can’t wait for the new book!
Thank you! I’d probably bake it at the lower temperature indicated here (375 vs. 425). It could take longer, but it less likely to overly brown before the pie is baked. Regardless, though, you can always put foil over the top if it’s browning too fast. I hope it’s a hit!
amazing! the end of the road for peach crumble, crisp, cobbler recipes – when i want to make something with my peaches, i will only make this forevermore! i’m just sorry i didn’t try sooner! thank you sk!
Mmmmm this was so good! The topping – oh so crunchy! I made these with two types of pears (a soft Bartlett and then a harder type – can’t remember the name). I cut the sugar a bit for the filling and made some whipped cream (no sugar) and it was delicious.
I made this yesterday ( added a few blueberries) – it was tremendous! Thank you!
Just made this tonight and it was so easy and delicious! The topping was absolute perfection.
This. Is. The. Bomb!!!!!
Ripe Georgia peaches and a handful of our backyard blackberries. So very delicious!!!
Well, I have to say: it’s not bad with chocolate ice cream either! Didn’t have vanilla so I had to go with chocolate. I made this half-size (as Deb suggested would be okay), and it was great. Very nice to use summer peaches this way.
I made this for my work colleagues. More than one person told me it was the best peach thing they ever ate. I put extra toasted pecans on top after baking and before serving. Most importantly, I use fresh peaches from Calhoun County, Illinois; the topping is a keeper. Yum!
Hi Deb,
I have been asked to make a vegan dessert, and I’m wondering how you think coconut oil would work in this delicious looking recipe?
Thank you!
Probably just fine. Or vegan butter.
Loved this! I halved the sugar, doubled the peaches, and went slightly thicker on the peach slicing based on the reviews. I used 8″ pie trays instead and everyone couldn’t wait to eat them out of the oven (they were a bit crumbly). After cooling in the fridge, the taste and intactness was great. Yummy with plain yogurt (I was too tired to make whipped cream).
I made this yesterday to bring to a July 4th celebration. I added 2 pints of fresh blueberries (because mmmmmm!) and served with Hagen Daas vanilla bean ice cream. I waited, listening for comments while everyone dug in. The lively conversation around the table died out while, one by one they took their first spoonful, and all I heard was happy moans and grunts! This recipe is outrageously delicious!
I love the way you always accompany your recipe with a “story” or lengthy opinions based on past honestly-described experiences… I love it; you make us feel: “don’t worry, I have been there…”. I completely agree on your depiction of the challenges presented by the pie crust! I changed elevation and it has been hell of a time for me, to “adjust” and find the right combination “flour, butter, water” to have a heavenly pie crust – I refused to use Crisco or margarine; only use butter as the fat source -. So yes, a fruit crumble is a great option for a fruit pie lover! Thank you for all your recipes and hard work describing it all!
This recipe is my Dad’s (and mine as well) favorite dessert! I make it for Father’s Day every year for the last few years. I’ve used nectarines when peaches weren’t available, I’ve even mixed nectarines and peaches when I didn’t have enough of one and it worked! Thanks Deb!
THIS WAS AMAZING! Made it for a party this weekend and got raves! Made 2 changes: Used about 3 1/2 lb of Peaches and 1 lb of Strawberries. Interestingly, some people thought it was rhubarb.
ALSO – I “almost” doubled the Pecan Sandy topping – because doesn’t everyone just LOVE the topping? It was SOOO good – and yes, I did eat some of the topping raw, on it’s own (which was safe, since no eggs!) Just delicious.
Summertime = Peaches to me. This is a recipe keeper!
I’ve made this twice now as my breakfast for the week! My tweaks were not adding sugar to the filling at all (can’t even tell, in my opinion—peaches were juicy and sweet enough!) and swapping out all purpose flour for all old fashioned oatmeal (whizzed in food processor with nuts to make oat flour). I mixed cherries with peaches the first time, second time mixed-in fresh Michigan blueberries. Amazing with a thick dollop of Icelandic skyr in the morning.
This recipe was the absolute best way to savor juicy summer peaches. The shortbread cookie crust was outstanding!! Move over peach cobbler! Thank for another great recipe Smitten!!
This was deliciouse. I had to used cooked peaches but it still turned out great.
Could you add oatmeal to this crust and if so, how much? I want a really crunchy topping. Will I get that with the recipe as is?
This is a perfect recipe for the bounty of september peaches. I had a little trouble with browning, got to agressive with a short broiler and had to scrape off some burned bits. But not to worry a little sprinking of additional toasted chopped pecans saved the day. Delish with vanilla ice cream last night, and with yogurt for breakfast this morning! I would love to know where you source your plain white casserole. It looks to be a good size and depth.
Well…the fresh peaches were the approximate texture of little cannon balls, so I used frozen instead. But the topping, the topping. One comment suggested doubling the topping and adding extra pecans on top, which doesn’t sound like the worst idea in the world.
Next time I’ll hopefully be able to find good fresh peaches and add blackberries.
Can I use unsalted margarine instead of butter for my dairy free people?
Yes
I made this tonight in an attempt to use up a giant basket of GA peaches we picked up on our drive from NY to FL. It did not disappoint! I made the full recipe (I had a LOT of peaches to use!), but divided it into 2 8×8 pans and gave one to a neighbor. I used the 1/2 cup of sugar and thought it an appropriate amount for the sweet peaches I was working with. The topping is perfect and I could have eaten it all on its own! I served it with vanilla ice cream and it got rave reviews! Thanks Deb!
I make this every Fourth of July. It’s always a huge hit! Made the topping with unsalted margarine this time instead of butter as we have a dairy free person in our midst! Still tasted great!!
Can this be made in advance and frozen?
I haven’t frozen it before but I think it would work. My only concern is if the topping will seem too soft after defrosting.
Its peach season in Ontario (Canada), so I felt I had to make this. My dinner guests (we had all had plenty to eat by the time we got to dessert, so I wasn’t sure if they would have room for any) enjoyed eating three helpings each. Thanks for letting me give them this combo of flavours of Ontario (peaches) and my Missouri roots (pecans). Yummm!
Thoughts on whether subbing in oat flour or just rolled oats in the topping would work for a gluten free option?
Are the quantities right for the topping? I made it as written, and the topping came out very dense and very solid, not crumbly at all. I used 130 grams for 1 cup of flour, which I looked up online. Is that the problem?
Made with not-quite-ripe peaches from our trees. Sliced thinly, turned out fabulous. According to the teenage daughter, “The pecans make it less desserty. More lunchy.” As she tucked into it for a late lunch.
I have to say: the photo posted of this crumble on IG was…off-putting. My medical background actually made me think of various skin problems. So I HAD to look at the recipe, and now I’m gathering ingredients and looking forward to a less than pretty -but mouthwatering – dessert! Thanks for letting me be honest😃
This is so good! Made it tonight for the first time. I had some quintessentially peachy Georgia peaches – the kind that are reliably sweet and flavorful and drip juice down your chin. I had a lot of them, and of course they all needed to be eaten at the same time. We ate some, and made this with the rest. Oh my gosh, the peaches are like velvet. And leaving the skins on (so much less work than pie) gives it a gorgeous color. My topping wasn’t crumbly at all; it turned out more like a wet cookie dough. Anyone else? I wonder if I processed the pecans too long. It didn’t matter though; it’s crazy delicious and still got crisp on top. Thanks, Deb!
Baked for dinner last night, followed the recipe, turned out delicious.
Maybe, use only one pinch of salt in the fruit mixture.
omg, I made this about a week ago and I’m still dreaming about how yummy it was (yes, with vanilla ice cream).
BUT, for some bizarre reason I didn’t read the instructions (or not at all carefully?), so I combined all the topping ingredients together *without running anything through the food processor* and, of course, I’m here to say it was STILL yummy. I also accidentally added the vanilla/bourbon (or, in my case scotch) to the peaches instead of the topping. What can I say? If you like fruit desserts, you can’t miss with this one. I absolutely love it. It was so good, the half recipe only lasted two nights for two adults. Maybe we’re just greedy . . . or we know a good thing when we taste it.
I have to add that I made this again last night–only this time I used what I thought would be an odd combo of fruit: peaches, blueberries, and apples! I also was doing too many things at once, and used the full amount of topping on a 9″ round cake pan. I knew it was too much once I started putting it on, but decided to use it all anyway. NO regrets! The topping is just wonderful–and, as last time, I just mixed all the ingredients together. I wanted to use a bit less butter, so I used 1 stick (4oz) and added about 1/3 cup milk to further moisten it. I also got crazy and threw in a few extra nuts (to empty the bag). This is my new go-to–even though I thought I’d miss oats in the topping, but I guess I didn’t. Yum Yum Yum!!!