Homemade Peach Crisp

Made with fresh peaches and a buttery, brown sugar oat topping, Homemade Peach Crisp is the perfect summertime dessert! Serve this peach crisp warm with either a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

I absolutely love this homemade peach crisp. The peaches are perfectly tender and juicy, while the oat topping adds that perfect crunch. Then, I top it off with whipped cream! What could be better?!

Peaches have always been one of my favorite summer fruits because for only a few months out of the year peaches are in season. When it's not peach season, they're usually bland in flavor and cost a lot more.

So, I may or may not have already baked up a few of these peach crisps this summer. 🙂

What's the Difference between a Crisp, Crumble, and a Cobbler?

For the longest time I had wondered this same question. I had initially thought that they were just different words for the exact same dessert, but they truly are different desserts.

Unfortunately the words "crisps" and "crumbles" are often used interchangeably in recipes even though they are, in fact, two different baked goods.

Here's what all three of these "C" words mean, regardless of what fruit they are used with.

Crisp: A crisp is like a streusel topping where it combines butter, flour, brown sugar, and usually some cinnamon and salt. We get that "crisp" part of a crisp topping by adding something like oats or nuts to it. This gives our streusel topping some texture and crunch, making it a crisp.

Crumble: A crumble is similar to a crisp where it has those same streusel toppings like butter, flour, and brown sugar, but that's where the similarities end. Crumbles are meant to have more of a lighter texture to them, so they do not contain any oats or nuts.

Cobbler: A cobbler is nothing like a crisp or a crumble. Instead, cobblers are a baked fruit dessert that's covered with spoonfuls of bisquit dough or pie dough. The fruit could also be topped with a wet cake batter.

Do I Need to Peel the Peaches?

Just like with my Homemade Apple Pie, peeling the skins depends on you and what you prefer. In my opinion, leaving the peach skins made no texture or taste difference to the peach crisp.

I baked this dessert both ways, once with the skin on and the other time with it off. Peeling the peach skins was really time consuming, and since it didn't change the overall taste to the dessert, I don't plan on peeling them again!

So, you decide. I say you don't need to take the extra effort to peel them. A lot of the time, depending on how ripe your peaches are, the skins start to fall off as you slice them, anyways.

Baking Tips Before Starting:

1. Softened Butter: Pull out a stick of butter about 1 hour before you want to start baking. Many recipes call for either melted, softened, or cold butter when constructing the crisp topping. I like to use soft, room temperature butter because it's easier to work with when incorporating into the oat mixture.

2. Crisp Topping: Use your hands to thoroughly incorporate the soft butter into the dry ingredients. You can use a pastry cutter or two forks, but sometimes it's just easier and more efficient to use your hands. Plus, it's fun!

Ingredients in Homemade Peach Crisp:

Peach Filling:

• Fresh Peaches: Frozen peaches work too, but I love the taste of a peach crisp made with fresh peaches.
• Sugar: Adds sweetness to the peaches.
• All-Purpose Flour: Helps to thicken up the peach juices as it's baking.
• Fresh Lemon Juice: Adds a touch of tartness to the peaches.
• Vanilla Extract: Adds flavor.
• Salt: Enhances the overall flavor.

Crisp Topping:

• Oats: This gives the topping texture.
• All-Purpose Flour: Helps to bind all of the ingredients together.
• Brown Sugar: Adds sweetness to the crisp topping.
• Cinnamon: Adds flavor.
• Salt: Enhances the overall flavor.
• Unsalted Butter: This helps to make the topping crumbly and adds buttery flavor.

How to Make the Best Peach Crisp:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8x8 inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Combine the sliced peaches, sugar, flour, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and salt until coated evenly. Pour into the prepared baking pan.

2. Mix together the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt with a fork. Add the room temperature butter and use your hands or two forks to combine the butter into the oat mixture until a crumbly topping is formed.

3. Sprinkle the crisp topping over the peaches and bake for 40-45 minutes. Once you see the top is golden brown and the peach juices are bubbling along the sides of the pan, you know it's done.

More Fresh Summer Desserts You'll Love:

• Soft Lemon Sugar Cookies
• Mini Strawberry Pies
• Strawberry Oat Bars