Making Peach Pie Bars is a delicious way to use up extra peaches. They're made with a cookie base and topping and sweet vanilla almond glaze.
I feel like it is borderline seasonally inappropriate to be posting this recipe on the first day of fall, but I'm still seeing local peaches around, so why not take advantage and make these before they are all gone?
I made them for the first time a couple of weeks ago to use up a box of peaches that weren't really all that great for eating on their own. You know the ones - kind of hard, but they turn kind of mealy when ripe? Luckily, baking with peaches like that usually redeems them. It did in this case - these Peach Pie Bars are amazing!
How to make Peach Pie Bars:
The key to making these Peach Pie Bars successfully is to roast the peaches before adding them to the bars. Sure it takes more time, but it also rids the peaches of some of their extra liquids so that they don't turn the bars into a soggy mess. I suspect that you could maybe use canned peaches, but since I haven't tried it, I won't recommend it until I do.
As I do with most of my baking recipes, I hid a little whole wheat flour in the cookie base and topping for a little extra fiber and texture, and I really don't think anyone noticed. However, if you want to make these and don't have any whole wheat flour, go ahead and use 3 cups of all-purpose flour instead.
While you're waiting for the peaches to roast, you can go ahead and make the batter. The technique is very similar to baking most cookie dough. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Cream the butter and sugar together using a stand mixer (or hand mixer), then add the eggs and flavor extracts.
Add the flour mixture and mix again until you have a soft batter. Spread half to two-thirds of the batter into a foil-lined 9x13" baking pan. Arrange the roasted peach slices on top of the batter, then dollop the remaining batter evenly over the peaches. Bake until the top is golden brown and cool before drizzling with the glaze.
Tip 💡
Avoid using a glass baking dish for this recipe, as the bottom of the bars will not fully cook (glass is slower to heat up). If that's all you have, you will likely need to increase the baking temperature and time: reduce the temperature by 25°F (in this case bake at 325°F), and add 10 minutes to the baking time. This will ensure that the pie bars will bake evenly.
The glaze is a simple mixture of cream (or milk), vanilla, almond extract, and powdered sugar. The pie bars can be served without the glaze, but I find that it does add a lot to them. If you want to skip the glaze, consider sifting powdered sugar over the bars before serving.
Peach Pie Bars Ingredients:
- Peaches - If you want to make this recipe when peaches aren't in season, you could use frozen peaches (you will probably have to add some time to the roasting if starting from frozen). You might also be able to use canned peaches, but I have not tested the recipe using them.
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Whole wheat flour - Feel free to replace with additional all-purpose flour if you wish
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter - Use a dairy-free butter substitute if you need this recipe to be dairy-free
- Large eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- Milk or half-and-half cream - Replace with water or a dairy-free milk if you need this recipe to be dairy-free
- Powdered sugar
Want more peach recipes?
Peach Pie Bars Nutrition Notes
Peach Pie Bars, like most desserts, are high in fat, sugar, and calories. To cut back on sugar, you could skip the glaze. Otherwise, enjoy in moderation.
To make this recipe dairy-free, replace the butter with a dairy-free butter substitute, and the milk or cream in the glaze with a dairy-free milk or water.
Peach Pie Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminium foil. Cut peaches in half and remove pit. Place peaches, cut side up on baking sheet and sprinkle evenly with 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip peaches over and bake for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven and cool until you are able to handle them. Remove skin if desired. Cut into ¼ to ½ inch slices.
- Adjust oven temperature to 350°F and line a 9x13" baking pan with foil and grease with butter or oil. While peaches are roasting and cooling, begin making the batter for the crust and topping. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 ½ cups plus 2 Tablespoons (300 g) granulated sugar, 1 cup (120 g) whole wheat flour, 1 ½ teaspoons (6 g) baking powder, and 1 teaspoon (6 g) salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter and 1 ½ cups granulated sugar until fluffy. Add in 3 large eggs, one at a time, then 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract and ¼ teaspoon (1.25 ml) almond extract. Turn mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, a little bit at a time. Mix until well blended. Batter will be soft.
- Pour about half of the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread with a spatula. Place sliced peaches in lines evenly over the batter. Top the sliced peaches with dollops of the remaining batter (it will spread as it bakes). Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown on top. Cool bars to room temperature before glazing.
- Pour 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) milk or half and half, ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) vanilla extract, and ⅛ teaspoon almond extract into a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar until you reach desired consistency.
Nutrition
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Katrina says
THESE LOOK AMAZING! I am so glad i found you blog because I have to try this recipe. I love peaches. Keep up the great work. I can't wait to read more 🙂
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Carissa says
Thanks Katrina!