Colorado Peach Crumb Bars

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 Colorado peach bars in the late summer sun
(Yes that's right.   Summer)

There is a rebellion going on here.

A rebellion against fall.     

The minute that Labor Day hit, all over the country, foodies of all shapes and sizes jumped on the fall flavor bandwagon.   The fact that it was 90+ degrees was no deterrent.    In the past week, the number of pumpkin and apple recipes on the food blogs I follow has sky rocketed.        

I was reminded by my sister, who has no interest in saying goodbye to summer,  the first day of autumn is still 10 days away and Halloween is 40 days past that.    Plenty of time in the year to think about sweaters and salted caramel.   Just not yet.  

I made a pact with a friend at work that we would go and get our first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season together when we felt the time was right and we were feeling fall-ish.    That hasn't happened yet. 

Here in Colorado, the farmer's markets are light with produce in May and June, but when August hits? Fruits and vegetables come out to play.     Palisade Peaches are the peaches to know.   There were still 5 left in the fridge. Do you know what else you can do with fresh peaches?   Soak them in Fireball Whiskey as a boozy treat.   But that's another tale for another time.  

If you still have peaches from your farmer's market, consider making these peach crumb bars.   You won't regret it.   Hold on to summer with both hands.   If it's a tug of war between you and old man winter, don't give up!

What You Need

For the crumb crust/topping:  

3 cups flour

1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter/margarine
1 egg

For the peachy middle:

5 peaches, peeled and diced

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

What You Do

Preheat the oven to 375.    Line a 9x13 baking dish with foil and coat with cooking spray.

For the crumb crust whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl.    Cut in the butter and then the egg.    Press half of the crumb crust in the bottom of the baking dish.   Put the pan and the remaining topping in the fridge while working on the peachy middle.

Put the diced peaches in a medium bowl.   Add lemon juice and mix gently (no sad bruised peaches at this party).   Combine the flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a smaller bowl.    Pour over the peaches and gently mix everything together.

Spoon the peach mixture over the crust.     Using your hands sprinkle the remainder of the crumb crust on top of the peaches.    Bake for 45 minutes.    Do not cut until completely cool.   

Eat your peach bars with your tan and flip flops while relishing the tail end of summer.    Don't jump into the pumpkin spice madness until you're ready.

Recipe slightly adapted from Brown Eyed Baker