Description
A decadent way to highlight the season’s best fruit, this fresh dessert features a buttery, nutty crumble made extra crispy with crunchy turbinado sugar and toasted pecans.
Ingredients
FILLING
5 cups (about 6 medium) ripe peaches, sliced 1/2-inch thick
zest of one small lemon (about 1 tsp)
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/3 cup Wondra flour (can also use all-purpose or tapioca flour)
TOPPING
3 T unsalted butter
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (not quick or instant)
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (also known as demerara, or Sugar in the Raw). If not available, use brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 2-quart 8×8 stoneware or glass baking dish.
Place the sliced peaches in a medium bowl and sprinkle with the sugar, salt, Wondra flour, lemon juice, and zest. Fold the mixture gently until the peaches are evenly coated and gooey-looking, and set aside.
Meanwhile, make the topping. In a small saucepan, melt 3 T butter over medium heat until the foam subsides and small brown particles begin to appear on the bottom of the pan. Watch carefully to make sure the butter doesn’t burn. Remove from heat, pour butter into a small bowl, and set aside.
Add pecans to the same pan and stir to coat nuts with the brown butter residue. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, about five more minutes, until nuts become crisp and fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, add oats, turbinado or brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and flour. Mix on low speed just until combined, then drizzle browned butter and continue to blend until the mixture is the texture of loose sand. Stir in toasted pecans.
Pour the peaches into the prepared pan and even out with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the peaches and slip into the oven. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until filling is bubbly and topping is brown and crisp.
Cool slightly before serving with a dollop of vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream.
Notes
… tips for picking ripe peaches: look at the area where the stem emerges from the fruit. If the skin is shades of orange, yellow, or red, you’re good to go. If it’s got a green tinge, that means it was picked prior to optimal ripeness and may not be as sweet and juicy. A strong peachy scent is also a great indicator of ripeness.
… be sure to use regular old-fashioned oats, which maintain their hearty texture when cooked, unlike quick oats, which tend to break down and get mushy.
