Peach Crumb Bars

February 22, 2010 is a very special date to me.  That was the day that I began my journey in food blogging.  I devoted every spare moment that I had to creating new recipes, styling the food for pictures, photographing them, and writing about them.  

Fast forward to present day, 5 years later.  After years of saving and living as frugally as we could, we finally did it -- we bought our dream house!  We also now have some land, and I can finally garden in my own backyard.  (The garden that I've written about countless times is one that we share with dear friends and family at a different location.)  Most of my free time now has been spent gardening, harvesting, and preserving.  I have some shelving in my basement where I store all of my canned foods, and I have a pretty nice collection so far.  My husband suggested that I start a section on my blog for canning.  Harvest is nearing an end, so maybe next year!  

I have about 15 quart jars of peaches hanging out in my basement.  It's been quite a while since I've blogged any dessert recipes, so I decided to use some of my canned peaches to make peach crumb bars as a treat over weekend.  These are delicious!  They're like a perfect mix of peach cobbler and peach pie.  My husband and I enjoy them warm, but my little sous chef likes them better cold.  However you eat it, try your best to score a corner piece!   

Ingredients:
Yields 24 bars
Adapted from Cooking Classy

• 4 1/2 c peaches, peeled, pitted, diced 
• 1 3/4 c sugar, divided 
• 3 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger 
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice 
• 1 tsp orange zest 
• 3 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 3/4 c salted butter, cold, cubed 
• 1 lg egg 
• 1/4 c sour cream 
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract 
• Sanding sugar, to taste 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Make the peach filling.  In a large bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup of the sugar along with the cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.  Pour in the peaches, orange juice, and orange zest, and stir well to combine.  Set aside.

Make the crumb mixture.  In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Cut the butter in with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles course crumbs.  In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, sour cream, and vanilla.  Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture.  Add the remaining 1 cup of sugar into the bowl, and stir well to combine.

Assemble.  Spread half of the crumb mixture evenly into a greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan.  Pour the peach filling along with all of the juices evenly over all.  Top with the remaining crumb mixture.  Sprinkle sanding sugar over all.

Bake in a preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until golden.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Enjoy!