Fresh Peach Crumble

It's July, it's Georgia, and that means it's time to celebrate peaches! They are my all-time favorite fruit. Over the years I have told the story often that when we were living in Tanzania, we could not get peaches. Even at higher elevations, there weren't enough cold nights for the trees to produce fruit. I missed them so much that when my local market got some from South Africa, I paid $6 for ONE peach. It wasn't the best peach either but that taste of home was worth every penny.  I love peaches in salads, I love them grilled and I love eating them fresh (with a napkin). Of course they're great in dessert too and my favorite is a crumble.  I don't have an actual recipe for this because it's just so easy and forgiving.

If possible, start with ripe seasonal peaches. We have a big family so I used about 10 peaches, then threw in a handful of fresh blueberries we had laying around for good measure. Tip: try to get freestone peaches because the fruit won't stick tot he pit. You'll thank me as you're cutting them up. I tossed the peaches with about a cup of sugar and a tablespoon or two of flour. If your peaches are super ripe and sweet, you can use less sugar. I also squeezed in a bit of lemon to help the peaches keep their color and a dash of cinnamon (probably 1/2 teaspoon). After mixing these together, I put the peaches in a 9x13" glass baking pan then went to work on the topping.

In a separate bowl, I mixed together one cup of flour, one cup of dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup of quick oats and around 1-2 teaspoons of cinnamon. I cut up a stick of butter and worked this in to the dry ingredients until the butter was in pea-sized chunks. Then I added a handful of pecans. I almost forgot those and I'm pretty sure my husband wouldn't have forgiven me. He takes his pecans very seriously. I sprinkled the topping all over the peaches, covered it with foil and baked for around 30 minutes in a 375 F oven. When it was done my daughter Josie insisted I put it under the broiler for a minute to brown the topping. That was a good call. It gave it just a tiny bit of toasted crunch. Be sure to watch it like a hawk because when it's under the broiler, your crumble can go from golden brown to burnt in a matter of seconds!

After you take it out, let it cool for a bit to thicken up. It will be hard, I know, but you're strong. Then serve it over a bowl of vanilla ice cream. If there are any leftovers (unlikely), it's great the next day for breakfast. Yum!