The smell of peaches reminds me of:
dusty, dirty sneakers. light coming through peach tree leaves. shade. drinking from the hose. wet jean shorts. caked mud. my yellow Sony sport walkman. that Counting Crows cassette tape i loved. my sister’s freckled nose. my dad’s hands. my mom’s laugh. sleeping in the sun in the car, half hearing adults talk. pie. pie pie pie pie pie. pie.
My family and I used to go pick peaches during summer months.
We never had fancy fruit during the year. We didn’t buy containers of raspberries. There were no pints of blueberries in my fridge. Those were too much of a luxury. We had bananas… endless amounts of boring bananas.
But! In the summer! We went peach picking. I remember it like a slow motion, montage movie scene in my head.
I like the keep the peach smell memories tucked away in my crazybrain… you know, to think about awesome things when not so awesome things are happening. Life tricks. I got em. I’m so good at life is downright amazing. Not true. At all… but I’ve got the peach smell memory situation tucked away in my brain just perfectly… for emergencies.
Fresh fruit crumbles are absolutely the most delicious summer dessert, considering the minimal amount of manpower that goes into their creation.
The better the fruit, the better the dessert. It’s as simple as that.
Oh! And don’t try to line up the square colored dots in this photo collage. Don’t do it. It’s just not worth it.
There are some rules to enjoying this dessert:
You’re not allowed to eat all the of crunchy, crumble topping off the top. Unless you live by yourself.. then you totally can.
You must eat this dessert with ice cream. Vanilla, preferred.
You must take a moment to appreciate the beautiful mauve color that this crisp bakes up into. It’s really quite lovely.
Lastly, this dish must be considered a breakfast, lunch, and dinner item… good for all occasions.
Fruit sweet. Oat-y crisp. Comforting summer. Ice cream required. Good(ness).
Oh! I should also tell you that I’m pretty much obsessed with crumbles. Here’s proof.
Peach Berry Vegan Crumbles. Pineapple Strawberry Crisp. Apple Crisp.
For your summer eatings.
Peach and Raspberry Crumble
makes 1 8×8-inch square baking dish
5-6 medium ripe peaches, sliced
1 cup fresh raspberries (if using frozen, just thaw and drain)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Place sliced peaches and raspberries in a square 8×8-inch baking dish and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, oats, spices, and salt. Add the butter and toss the mixture together with your hands. Break the butter up into the flour mixture until the butter is the size of small pebbles and oat flakes. This took me about 4 minutes.
Toss a generous handful (about 1 cup) of crumble topping into the peach and raspberry mixture. Toss loosely with your hands. Spread fruit evenly in the pan and top with the remaining crumble mixture. Bake until fruit is juicy and bubbling, and the top of the crumble is slightly browned and crisp, about 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and serve with vanilla ice cream. Crumble is delicious served warm and can be stored, covered, in the fridge and reheated in the oven or microwave for serving.
Meg
Yummmmy. I made some Strawberry Rhubarb crumble to celebrate the first official day of summer. And yes, I agree, the only way to eat a crumble is warm with vanilla ice cream!
hollycakes
yum! yum! yum!
you more than made up for the pb & oat debaucle ;)
these look amazing… i think i will try them ALL.
delight!!
Erin @ Cake Makes Sense
This post makes me want to go fruit picking. I only did it once, with cherries. But I do remember it fondly. Recently, my family went to a strawberry festival. It was amazing – strawberry eating contests, “world’s largest” strawberry shortcake sold for $2 a slice-the-size-of-a-newborn, and other deep-fried strawberry delights. Normally I wouldn’t recommend frying delicious fruit desserts, but exceptions must be made. Never say never. Your crumble, however, looks like it needs nothing extra. Except for my spoon, mercilessly digging in. Yum!
Nicole
I am so making this tonight, before the ton of peaches I have goes bad!
annie
Oh YAY Joy, this post took me back! I have similar soul-deep memories of picking ranier and bing cherries in the summer with my family, so high up on the rickety wooden orchard ladder that no one could even see me up in the tree, surrounded by heavy, shiny masses of ripe gold and maroon cherries. Bliss.
Going to the farmers market tonight to get a flat of ripe peaches and make this. I (heart) summer!
jen @ the baked life
peaches remind me of why I need to wear a bib while eating them.
I believe crumbles are the best thing to feed boys. The love them. It’s all the butter, sugar, fruity deliciousness.
Khushboo @ Two Megapixel Food
I think one of these days I will have to raid your kitchen to steal all your plates and placemats. We’re having guests on Sunday and am definitely making a peach crumble!
Callie Feyen
Lovely post. I loved drinking from the hose. It’s what I’m going to introduce my girls to this summer. :)
Also, the other day at the gym I forgot my mp3 player in the spin room and had to go back for it. Except I said, “Can I get back in the spin room? I forgot my WALKMAN.” The guy said, “You’re what?” Oh dear.
Emalee
Crumble/crisp is my favorite dessert of all time (with icecream).
Joy, try making chilled beet soup! I think you might like it!
Victoria
that looks so amazing. I need to try that vegan crisp recipe!
Kathryn
I always think of crumbles as being a winter dish but that does mean you are somewhat limited in your choice of fruit. Maybe it’s a UK thing? The combination of peach and raspberry is a winning one though. And the fish plate in the top picture? Love!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen
Fruit crumbles are amazing in the summertime. I want to make like 1 a week to enjoy all the fresh fruit possibilities!
Baking Holly
I Absolutely love crumbles. in my food, in icecream…not in my drinks though. I wish I lived by myself so I could eat the top off. That looks fantastic! I love how you always include a fam story.
Question..does it really matter if you cut the butter into cubes? Or is it just for picture beauty?
katie
this has tonight’s dessert written all over it. heck, tonight’s dinner? I know you would approve.
chloe @ 321delish
I LOVE crumbles…they are such a summer dessert special. Esp with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top!