Healthy Peach Crumble Bars
These dessert bars remind me of my grandma’s famous peach pie! They have a soft and chewy sugar cookie crust, juicy peach filling, and spiced oat streusel topping. Such an irresistible combination of textures and flavors! Leftover bars will keep for at least six days if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator — if they last that long!
Ingredients
for the topping
- ½ cup (50g) instant oats (gluten-free if necessary and measured like this)
- 2 tbsp (15g) white whole wheat flour or millet flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 4 tsp pure maple syrup (room temperature)
- 2 tsp coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
for the filling
- 1 ½ cups (300g) finely diced peaches (see Notes!)
- 1 tbsp (8g) cornstarch
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
for the crust
- 1 ¼ cups (150g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp (21g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted
- 3 tbsp (45mL) unsweetened cashew milk (room temperature)
- ¾ tsp almond extract
- 1 ½ tsp liquid stevia
- 2 tbsp (30mL) pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line an 8”-square pan with parchment paper (or coat an 8”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray).
- To prepare the topping, stir together the oats, flour, and cinnamon. Make a well in the center. Pour in the maple syrup and coconut oil or butter, and stir until all ingredients are completely incorporated.
- To prepare the filling, gently toss together the peaches, cornstarch, and cinnamon until the peaches are evenly coated.
- To prepare the crust, whisk together the flour, baking power, and salt in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil or butter, milk, almond extract, and liquid stevia. Stir in the maple syrup. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
- Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pan into a thin, even layer using your hands. (If it sticks to your fingers, then moisten your fingers with a tiny bit of water, and continue as needed.) Spread the filling evenly across the crust. Sprinkle the oat mixture on top of the peaches. (It tends to clump, so break it into tiny pieces as you go!) Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until the topping feels firm and the crust appears to be done. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan, and let the bars rest for at least 3 hours once at room temperature before slicing and serving to allow the filling to fully set.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE: Remember to measure the oats and flour using this method or a kitchen scale! (← That’s the one I own.) Too much of either ingredient will dry out the streusel topping and sugar cookie crust.
OATS NOTE + SUBSTITUTIONS: Instant oats are also called “quick cooking” or “one minute” oats. They’re smaller and thinner than traditional old-fashioned rolled oats. In a pinch, old-fashioned oats (gluten-free, if necessary) may be substituted.
FLOUR SUBSTITUTIONS: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour in the crust. Oat flour will also work, but be very careful when measuring it because it tends to be a bit more absorbent than wheat-based flours.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTIONS: In the topping, any gluten-free flour, except coconut flour, may be substituted for the millet flour. In the crust, most store-bought gluten-free flour blends (like this one!) will work, if measured like this. Gluten-free oat flour will also work, but be very careful when measuring it because it tends to be a bit more absorbent than many other gluten-free flours.
ALMOND EXTRACT NOTE: Almond extract was one of my grandma's secret ingredients in her peach pie. It tastes amazing with peaches, so I love using it in my peach recipes too! Vanilla extract may be substituted for the almond extract, if you're not a fan or have nut allergies.
STEVIA NOTES: I highly recommend using the liquid stevia! I buy mine online here (it's the cheapest price I've found!), and you’ll also use it in all of these recipes of mine.
You cannot substitute additional pure maple syrup for the liquid stevia because the crust requires a precise balance of wet and dry ingredients. However, you may substitute ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (120g) coconut sugar (or brown sugar or granulated sugar, if you aren’t concerned about keeping these cookies clean eating friendly) for both the pure maple syrup and stevia in the cookie bars, but the crust won’t be as sweet and will appear “speckled” if using coconut sugar because it doesn’t dissolve as well.
SWEETENER SUBSTITUTIONS: Agave or honey may be substituted for the pure maple syrup.
MILK SUBSTITUTIONS: Any milk may be substituted for the unsweetened cashew milk.
IMPORTANT PEACH NOTES: Make sure to finely dice the peaches! They should be no larger than the size of your pinky nail or standard-sized chocolate chips. This smaller size ensures your bars bake evenly and that you have a thin, even layer of peaches spread all the way across the crust.
Both fresh peaches and peaches canned in 100% juice will work. If using fresh, peel them first. If using canned, drain them really well. I haven’t tried using frozen peaches.
STREUSEL TOPPING NOTE: If you prefer a thicker layer of streusel, then double the topping.
GLUTEN FREE, DAIRY FREE, EGG FREE + VEGAN OPTION: Use one of the gluten-free alternatives mentioned above and the coconut oil option. Alternatively, substitute stick-style vegan butter for the coconut oil.
For more tips and information, please see my blog post above!
{gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, lower sugar}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amyshealthybaking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.