

I would have liked to post this recipe for Peach Pie Bars several days ago (well before the first day of Fall), but things have been a little crazy in the Domestic Dreamboat house this week. Baby J has been a little under the weather. It all started with a cold over labor day weekend. That turned into an ear infection, and that led to the diagnosis of an amoxicillin allergy (like mother like son I guess). So J has been sporting a nasty case of hives the past few days. All in all, in the past couple of weeks we have been to our clinic, urgent care and the emergency room, as well many phone calls to nurses. I am truly hoping that he is on the mend.

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.

The key to making this recipe 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 recipes, I hid a little whole wheat flour in the cookie base and topping, 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.

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.

Peach Pie Bars
Ingredients
- 2 pounds peaches (about 4 large)
- 1 ½ cups plus 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar divided
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened, (2 sticks)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Glaze
- 3 Tablespoons milk or half and half
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar (or more as needed)
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 9x11" 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 the all purpose and whole wheat flours, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and 1 ½ cups granulated sugar until fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and almond extracts. Turn mixer to low speed and add 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.
Glaze
- Pour milk, vanilla and almond extracts into a medium bowl. Gradually whisk in powdered sugar until you reach desired consistency. Allow glaze to harden (about 1 hour) before slicing.

Katrina
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 🙂
http://www.inspoandco.com
Carissa
Thanks Katrina!