Peaches are one of my favorite summer fruits. Actually, I don’t think I can play favorites. There are so many glorious gems to chose from this time of year… raspberries for raspberry chocolate chip jumbo muffins, strawberries for strawberry oat squares, blueberries for blueberry pie bars—I love them all!!
These fruity/creamy bars are nothing short of amazing. Four layers to love: buttery, brown sugar oat crust, creamy & juicy peach filling, pecan/cinnamon crumble, and an easy vanilla icing to finish it all off. The peach filling leaves each bite ultra moist and the crumble on top maintains a slight crunch. These bars are a texture lover’s dream!
The peachy filling is made from peaches, egg, flour, and sugar. The egg and flour create a thick creamy sauce to envelope the diced peaches inside. I adore the peach filling, but the crust and crumble might just be the stars of the show. They’re both made from the same dough, which makes things easy and convenient. I try to dirty as little bowls as possible when I can. I know you feel me there!
The crust/crumble = made from 5 simple ingredients. Probably things you have in your kitchen right now. Oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. We use melted butter in blueberry pie bars, but here you want cold butter because you are going to cut the cold butter into the other ingredients. I recommend using a pastry cutter. It makes things so much easier. Cut the cold butter in until the mixture is crumbly. Reserve 3/4 cup of the oat mixture for the topping, to which you’ll add pecans. Nuts are optional, so you can definitely leave them out! The rest of the oat mixture will be pressed into your pan for the crust.
This is what the coarse crumbs of the oat mixture will look like:
Pre-bake the crust, then pour the creamy peach filling over the crust. What you will LOVE most about these bars is that the juicy filling seeps into the crust as it bakes, making the bars unbelievably moist. The tender, brown sugary crust will melt in your mouth.
The bars take about 30 minutes in the oven. Your kitchen will smell like a cross between cinnamon rolls and peach pie. Two of my favorite things in one. Allow the bars to cool before cutting and drizzling with the vanilla icing. I halved my original vanilla icing recipe since we don’t need as much. It’s made from 3 simple ingredients: heavy cream (or milk), confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla extract.
Drizzle the icing on top and prepare to be amazed. 😉
I think I found my new favorite dessert. Definitely one of the best ways to enjoy all of these fresh summer peaches! What’s your favorite way to enjoy peaches?
More peachy desserts to try: peach Bundt cake (with an incredible brown butter icing), peach muffins, peach cobbler, peach crumble pie, peach crisp, strawberry peach galette, peach cake, and peach bread.
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Peaches ‘n’ Cream Bars
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 12 bars
- Category: Bars
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Take advantage of summer’s fresh peaches with these easy bars. A four layered bar with a brown sugar and oat crust, topped with a creamy peach filling, pecan streusel, and finished off with luscious vanilla icing.
Ingredients
Crust & Topping
- 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 cup (43g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats (or quick oats)
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 10 Tablespoons (142g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- optional: 1/2 cup (70g) chopped pecans
Peach Filling
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (8g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 medium peaches, peeled and chopped (about 1.5 cups)
Vanilla Icing
- 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C) degrees. Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil or parchment, leaving an overhang on all sides to easily lift the bars out of the pan before cutting. Spray with nonstick spray or grease with butter. Set aside.
- Make the crust/topping: In a large bowl, whisk the flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon together until combined. Cut in the cold butter using a pastry blender or two forks until it reaches coarse, pea-sized crumbs. See photo above. Remove 3/4 cup of the mixture, put in a small bowl and mix with pecans. This will be set aside for the topping.
- Evenly press the remaining oat mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes as you prepare the filling.
- Make the filling: Whisk the egg and sugar together until smooth and creamy. Add the flour and salt. Whisk until combined. Fold in the peaches. Remove crust from the oven after 15 minutes and pour the filling over hot crust. Sprinkle with reserved oat/pecan mixture.
- Bake for 30-32 minutes or until golden brown on top. Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator and allow to chill for 2 hours.
- Once chilled, lift the foil out of the pan using the overhang on the sides and cut into squares. For neat squares, I use a very sharp knife and wipe it clean with a paper towel after each cut.
- Make the vanilla icing: Using a fork or spoon, whisk/stir the confectioners’ sugar, cream, and vanilla extract together until smooth. Add another Tablespoon of milk to thin out if needed. Drizzle over each square. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Prepare the bars 1-3 days in advance and store covered tightly in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Bars can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 8-inch Square Baking Pan or 9-inch Square Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Pastry Cutter | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Double Batch: Recipe can easily be doubled to fit in a 9×13-inch pan. Baking time will increase to 35 minutes.
Keywords: peaches n cream bars, peach streusel bars
Can you advise how to make this gluten free please
Hi Janet, we haven’t tested this recipe using gluten free flours, but let us know if you do any experimenting.
This is a great recipie I have doulbled it can I quadruple it and if what size pan what to make for a big gathering thank
★★★★★
Hi Lisa! We would make two double batches for that amount of peaches & cream bars. So glad you enjoy them!
Bleh….sorry!
★★★
Divine! Doubled the recipe for a 13×9 pan, used six peaches, baked for 45 minutes and…heaven!
Great recipe. Came out perfect!
Great recipe. Came out perfect!
I love this recipe it’s a little gooey I wonder if I cooked it long enough 32 min ?
Hi Deb, did you allow the bars to cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, followed by 2 hours in the refrigerator? They can be a bit gooey (especially with those peaches!) but if they seemed especially so, you can try adding another minute or two to your bake time. Glad you enjoyed them!
I made these yesterday minus the vanilla frosting. They are excellent!
Just added a tsp.vanilla to the peach filling
★★★★★
I enjoyed the peaches and cream bars but omitted the icing. The bars taste delicious on their own and don’t need frosting. This way, it’s like peach crisp in bar form!
Wondering if you can use canned peach slices gif this?
Hi Carol, fresh or frozen peaches are best, but canned peaches should work in a pinch. Be sure to drain them well and try blotting them dry to remove any excess moisture. If you can, try to use peaches with no sugar added, so that they’re not overly sweet. Let us know what you try!
this recipe sounds awesome and I can’t wait to make it. I save all your recipes to a file on my ONE_NOTE so I can find them fast
Not my favorite! Peaches are my favorite summer fruit! Im an experienced baker but these were very soft and gummy.I followed the recipe exactly using a 9” pan. I always check my oven temp and these just weren’t great. In that size pan they were quite thin. The top never got a golden brown. Wouldn’t make again.
★★★
These look delicious! If I use frozen peaches do I thaw them first and drain the liquid or leave them frozen?
Hi Sue! If you use frozen peaches do not thaw first. The bake time will likely be a little longer!
Peaches are a bit expensive where I am right now. Would canned peaches work? Thanks.
Hi Amanda, fresh or frozen peaches are best, but canned peaches should work in a pinch. Be sure to drain them well and try blotting them dry to remove any excess moisture. If you can, try to use peaches with no sugar added, so that they’re not overly sweet. Let us know what you try!
These are just so good. I made them with nectarines because that’s what I had this time. I’ve made them with peaches before too. Just amazing !
★★★★★
If I use convection or air fry functions how would that change the time and temperature in my oven?
Hi Joanne, all of the recipes on this site are written for conventional settings. Convection ovens are fantastic for cooking and roasting. If you have the choice, we recommend conventional settings when baking cakes, breads, etc. The flow of air from convection heat can cause baked goods to rise and bake unevenly and it also pulls moisture out of the oven. If you do use convection settings for baking, lower your temperature by 25 degrees F and keep in mind that things may still take less time to bake. Hope this helps!
THANKS SO MUCH for the quick reply to my message – I will just use my conventional setting on my oven. You made the choice so much easier. Appreciate it and can hardly wait to make this recipe. My daughter made them and shared some of the squares and I was hooked! GREAT recipe!
My pleasure! Hope they turn out great for you!
When doubling the recipe, do I bake the crust for 30 min instead of 15?
★★★★★
Hi Tara, if you double the recipe for a 9×13-inch pan, increase the final baking time to 35 minutes, but you don’t need to increase the crust pre-bake time–that can remain at 15 minutes. Good question!
Could I leave the egg out? I was thinking of maybe just using peaches and sugar in the filling. Or is there a substitute you might recommend? Thanks.
Hi J, the egg plays an important role in binding the filling, so we don’t recommend leaving it out. We haven’t tried any replacements, but let us know if you do.
Very tasty. Love to try all your recipes and adapt them to our vegan diet 🙂 Used 1tbsp vanilla pudding powder + 2tbsp water for the egg and it turned out great 🙂 Thanks 🙂
★★★★★
I went peach picking a few weeks ago, and accidentally might have picked too many peaches, so I have been making this on repeat since then. It’s absolutely delicious. My favorite peach recipe from all the different recipes I’ve tried this few weeks.
Sally- You’ve done it again! I made these yesterday and the whole pan is nearly gone (I live alone)! These are absolutely fabulous! My kids are coming for dinner later this week and I’ll be making them again. I still have a couple of peaches in the fridge and plan to make a separate pan with blueberries so they’ll have a choice (and I’ll have leftovers for the weekend)! Thanks again for a great recipe! So SO good!
★★★★★
Easy to make and utterly delicious!
★★★★★
This recipe is very unique with the addition of the egg to the peaches creating a bit of a custard filling. I doubled the amount of peaches to make them the star of the show since they are from my tree & are sweet & delicious.. I had issues with the crust though. It was not a course crumbly mixture. It was very wet, more like a cookie dough. I used it as is for the base & crossed my fingers. I added more oats to the remainder to create the crumble, which was perfect. I weighed all my ingredients for accuracy. Wondering if there is a misprint in the recipe. Should the oat content be higher? Would appreciate your comments.
★★★★
Thank you so much for trying these! The crust/topping definitely shouldn’t become a paste or like cookie dough. I wonder if the butter wasn’t cold enough to form those crumbles? Or perhaps over-mixed which then moistened the dry ingredients too much? The recipe is written as it should be and how I usually make them. If you try them again, make sure the butter is very cold.
The butter was cold but perhaps my kitchen was too hot. Can’t win some days. I will definitely make again. I have had great success with all of your recipes so far especially your scones. Fantastic. Thank you for your input. Appreciate the comment.
Hi Sally! I am preparing to make this recipe today but my peaches are still fairly unripe. Do you recommend waiting until they are fully recipe to make it? Thanks!
Hi Paige, the bars will taste much better if you wait until those peaches are a bit riper. Worth it!