Peach and Bourbon Bars

The farmers market is in full force here in Omaha and I absolutely could not pass up the opportunity to bring home a few lovely peaches. As they sat on my counter, I thought about what I might do with them besides just slice and eat (which is perfectly fine). I ran across a few inspirations online and decided to sort of mash them all together and add a few of my own ingredients.

This recipe could easily be made with any other stone fruit or perhaps even some hearty berries like strawberries…ooooh, maybe even cherries!

This is pretty straightforward as far as dessert bars go. You probably already have most of the ingredients in your cupboard. So, take a couple of hours out of your day and before you know it, you’ll have these tasty summery peach bars to enjoy.

Peach and Bourbon Bars
Adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction (Great site! Go visit!)

Ingredients:

For crust and topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into cubes
2/3 cup chopped toasted pecans (350ºF oven, 15 minutes, be sure they don’t burn)

For filling:

1 large egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 peaches, pit removed and chopped
3 tablespoons bourbon

For glaze:

1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 9×9 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a few inches of overhang to remove bars from pan. Spray parchment with baking spray (I use Pam for Baking).

In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and sea salt. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (pea-sized). Scoop out 3/4 cup of the mixture into a small bowl and add the pecans. Toss to combine and set aside for use as the topping.

Press remaining mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

To prepare filing, whisk the egg and sugar in a large bowl until pale and creamy. Add the flour and sea salt and stir to combine. Using a spatula, fold in the chopped peaches and bourbon.

Remove crust from oven and pour filling over hot crust. Sprinkle pecan topping over peaches and bake in oven for an additional 30-32 minutes until crust is golden brown. Cool in pan for at least 30 minutes. Place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour before cutting into squares.

In a small bowl, combine the confectioner’s sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Drizzle over bars.