Peach Amaretto Crumble Bars (Vegan)
Sweet peaches, a buttery almond crust, and a hint of amaretto make these bars irresistible. An egg-free, dairy-free, and easy summer treat.
An amaretto-infused, buttery shortbread crust and crumble combined with a lovely cinnamon and amaretto peach filling. Peach and amaretto are absolutely wonderful together, and I don’t know why I haven’t tried this sooner. Add some almonds and a hint of cinnamon; the combination is outstanding. These bars require minimum effort with maximum enjoyment; they are easy and delicious.
What you will need:
Fresh or frozen peaches will work. Although amaretto adds a wonderful flavor, you can use almond extract in its place if you’d prefer not use it. Finally, the recipe gets a lovely little crunch from the slivered almonds. The remaining components are standard pantry essentials.
- all purpose flour
- cinnamon
- combination of cane sugar and coconut sugar
- plant based butter with salt – needs to be cold and cubed
- slivered almonds
- peaches – frozen or fresh
- cornstarch
- amaretto – almond extract can be substituted
How to:
I used frozen peaches for this recipe. So, the first step is to defrost and drain the peaches and cut them into roughly 1-inch pieces. If you are using fresh peaches, peel them and cut them into 1-inch pieces.
To make the shortbread crust, add the flour, cinnamon, and sugar to a medium bowl and whisk to combine. Add the cold, cubed butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in until a sandy, pebble-like consistency is achieved. Slivered almonds and amaretto are then added to the shortbread dough and incorporated by tossing the dough gently with a fork. Reserve 3/4 cup of the shortbread dough to be used for the crumble topping and add the rest of the shortbread dough to a prepared 8×8 square pan. Make sure to spread the dough out evenly and press it down. Bake the dough for 30 minutes at 325F or until the shortbread has golden edges.
While the shortbread is cooling (I let it cool for 20 minutes before adding the peach mixture to the pan), I prepare the peach mixture. Take the defrosted and cut-up peaches, pat them dry, and add them to a medium bowl. To the peaches, add the sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch; mix to combine. Add amaretto to the peaches and stir to incorporate it. Add the peach mixture to the shortbread crust and spread it out evenly across the top. Take the reserved shortbread dough and distribute it evenly over the top of the peaches. Sprinkle the remaining almond slivers over the top of the crumble and bake (the oven remains at 325F) for 40 minutes. Once out of the oven, let the bars cool in the pan for 20 to 30 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Helpful tips:
When it comes time to combining the peach filling, make sure the peaches are not overly moist. If they are too wet, it will add too much liquid to the recipe and the bars won’t set and will fall apart. I also suggest waiting to bring the peach filling together until you are ready to add it to the pan. If it is made too far ahead of time, it will become too juicy and add too much liquid to the recipe.
So, let’s get started. Please make, bake and enjoy!
Peach Amaretto Crumble Bars
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust and Crumble Topping
- 2¼ cups / 270 grams all purpose flour
- 182 grams / 13 tbsp plant based butter with salt – cold and cubed
- 4 tbsp / 50 grams cane sugar
- 2 tbsp 25 grams coconut sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 tsp amaretto
- 6 tbsp / 45 grams slivered almonds
- 4 tbsp / 30 grams slivered almonds for the top of the bars
Peach Filling
- 460 grams / 3.5 cups frozen peaches – defrost and cut into 1 inch pieces (425 grams fresh, peeled peaches)
- 1/2 cup / 100 grams cane sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp amaretto
Instructions
Shortbread Crust and Crumble
- Preheat the oven to 325F and line an 8×8 square pan with parchment paper.
- To a medium bowl add the flour, both sugars, and cinnamon; whisk to fully combine. Add the cold, cubed butter and cut it into the flour mixture until a sandy, pebble-like consistency is reached.
- To the butter/flour mixture add the 6 tablespoons of slivered almonds and the amaretto. Using a fork, incorporate the amaretto and almonds into the shortbread dough by lightly tossing it around. Reserve ¾ cup of the dough to be used as the crumble topping, add the rest of the dough to the prepared pan. Spread the dough out evenly and press it down. Bake the shortbread for 30 minutes or until golden brown along the edges. Remove the shortbread from the oven and let it cool for about 20 minutes.
Peach Filling
- While the shortbread crust is cooling, the peach filling can be prepared. In a medium bowl add the peaches. In a small bowl add the sugar, cinnamon, and cornstarch; whisk to fully combine and then add the mixture to the peaches. Fold the mixture in; add the amaretto and fold that in.
Assembly
- Pour the peach mixture over the baked crust and spread it out evenly. Take the reserved shortbread dough and evenly distribute it over the top of the peaches. Take the 4 tablespoons of slivered almonds and sprinkle over the top of the crumble. Bake the bars for 40 minutes or until the crumble looks golden brown. Let the bars cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let the bars completely cool before cutting and serving.These bars are best eaten same day. If stored in an airtight container they will keep for 2 to 3 days.
