Peach Crumb Bars

This is like a portable little peach cobbler.

PEACH CRUMB BARS

11/2 cups sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
zest of half a lemon
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1 egg
5 cups peeled, chopped peaches (about 5 peaches)
5 teaspoons cornstarch
juice of 1 lemon
pinch of nutmeg

Grease a 9 x 13 pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the sugar, the baking powder and flour. Mix in the salt and the lemon zest, and stir together with a fork. Cut in the butter and egg with a pastry blender until the largest chunks are about pea-sized. The mixture should be crumbly without much loose flour. Spread about half of the dough mixture in an even layer over the bottom of the prepared pan and press down firmly to form the bottom crust.

In another bowl, stir together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and nutmeg. Gently mix in the peaches with a rubber spatula until combined. Sprinkle the fruit mixture evenly over the crust. (Note: If peaches are really juicy, you may want to transfer them with a slotted spoon so you don’t have too much liquid making the bottom crust soggy.) Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the peaches.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 - 50 minutes or until the top is slightly golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares and serving. Store in refrigerator.

I actually like them cold, but feel free to heat up in microwave and top with some vanilla ice cream.