Peach Crisp

There's nothing better than a perfectly ripe peach.  We like Colorado peaches, and bought about half a lug's worth recently.  This home-style dessert is wonderful served warm, with a great big scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream!

Juli's Peach Crisp

Topping:
1 cup flour
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, cold

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Lightly grease a 9 x 13 glass baking pan. I used butter flavor non-stick cooking spray.

2.  In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, rolled oats and cinnamon.  Mix well with a fork.  Cut the chilled butter into skinny pats and mix into the flour mixture with a pastry blender until the pieces of butter are slightly larger than pea-sized. This is hand-work;  don't try to combine the butter into the flour mixture using a power mixer, a stand mixer, or a food processor - they are simply too efficient for the task and will cut your nice rolled oats into bits.

Peach Prep:
4-5 cups fresh peaches 
3 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

3.  Next, peel and slice 4-5 cups of fresh peaches.  This is about 10 average-sized peaches.  I never bother with using a boiling water dip to remove the peach skins, since the burners on my stove take awhile to bring a large amount of water to a boil.  I just peel the peaches using a potato peeler.  Feel free to use the boiling water dip if you like. 

I did make one concession to convenience by using the peach pitter/slicer I bought recently at Williams Sonoma.  I liked the apple corer/slicer that fellow blogger The Iowa Housewife recommended so much, that I couldn't resist trying out the peach gadget.  While there is some small waste of fruit around the pit, I don't mind that too much, as I can nibble it while the crisp is baking.  We also used to have a guinea pig named Harvey who would have loved a fruity peach pit to work on!

4.  In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine peaches and sugar.  Sprinkle with flour and cinnamon and mix in as well as you can.  The peaches will look like a mess, but have faith, it will all turn out beautifully!  Spread the peach mixture evenly into the greased glass baking dish.   Sprinkle the topping over all, and bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes.