Hello everybody!! It’s been so long since I’ve been able to talk with you. I’ve missed you!! This past summer has been crazy for our family, and it just hasn’t been possible to fit enough hours into our days to do all we’d like. I’m hoping you are happy, heathy, and doing the things that you love. This is not always easy because of our various lives and the challenges they bring, but we’ll do our best, won’t we? Among other things, last week my husband Dick, brother Gary, and I tackled our annual peach canning adventure. This involved nearly five hours in the car, fetching and bringing home the coveted Zee Lady peaches. Then the frantic search for jar lids, which I now know are in very short supply everywhere. It took ten trips to various stores before we found enough. Suffice it to say, that resulted in sweating bullets. When all was said and done, we had 73 quarts of these beauties, and it was definitely worth all the bullet sweating that went on. Because we have been surrounded by peaches, I wanted to share one of my favorite ways to savor them. This Peach and Nectarine Crisp in one of my favorites – but truth be told, if you just double the peaches and leave the nectarines out altogether, you’ll still be a very happy camper. I posted this recipe for the first time a couple of years ago, before my mom Neeners had her stroke. She still is as hilarious as ever, and when I reread this post, it reminded me how much her true spirit still shines through, even through life’s hardships. It’s a good reminder and inspiration to me every day. Hope you enjoy!!
Have you ever heard the term ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’? Well, my mother, Neeners, very cleverly created a situation where it was necessary to invent something to take care of the flat of peaches she could not resist buying. “My God, those things were beautiful…so I had to buy the whole flat and now I want you to take some – NOT ALL – and do something creative”. So…there I was with a few big, and yes beautiful peaches, but not enough for her favorite peach crisp. What to do? So being the non-genius that I am, I looked around the kitchen. There, staring me right in the face, was a bowl of nectarines that I just had to have. (I guess the nut doesn’t fall too far from the tree). The result is this Peach & Nectarine Crisp. Sweet, but not too sweet, with just a hint of tartness from the nectarines, plus just the faintest whisper of cinnamon.
The perfect crisp is in the eye of the beholder. Some absolutely must have oatmeal in their crisps, while others insist on nuts. I prefer neither, but go after that rich, buttery and slightly crispy crust with fruit juices oozing through around the edges. Nirvana. If you prefer oats in your version, go ahead and replace half of the flour with them. All of you nut fans out there – add a cup chopped nuts to the topping mixture. What the heck? Do both if you like. After all, this is now your recipe….
I ended up splitting the recipe, so Neeners could have half and we could have the rest. I awaited her call…” Hello, this is your mother speaking. I am looking at a big bowl of your Crisp, but I am not eating it yet. I put a generous scoop of ice cream on top and am waiting until it melts to perfection on the top before I dive in. I will give you my review tomorrow. Goodbye”. I await her review, but in the meantime, keep reading to check out the recipe for yourself…
Seriously, this Crisp comes together in a snap – just get your fruit lined up, add a little sugar to help it along, and a touch of cinnamon. Into a baking dish (or dishes, if you’re splitting the recipe to share), throw together your topping, get it on there and bake till bubbly. It makes a whole lot of sense to me not to mess around too much with Mother Nature, and since peaches and nectarines are just about perfect as they come off the tree, we’ll just give them a little nudge.
Enjoy this Crisp warm out of the oven, or at room temperature. Eating it too cold will mask those intense fruit flavors, so if you take him out of the refrigerator, just warm him up a little in the oven. It will be worth the wait once you get that ice cream on top..
See what I mean? Hope you enjoy!! Thanks for reading today. xoxoxo
I’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to send me an email at birdnestbites@gmail.com with any comments, questions or suggestions. I promise to answer each and every one.
If you’d like a little more peach inspiration, just follow these links to a couple of other recipes from Bird’s Nest Bites that might interest you:
Peach & Nectarine Crisp
Ingredients
- 5 cups skinned sliced peaches (fresh or frozen)
- 5 cups unpeeled nectarines fresh or frozen
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon optional
- ½ cup granulated sugar NOTE: maybe just a little more sugar, but if your peaches are super sweet, I doubt you’ll need it
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup cold butter
Instructions
- If using fresh peaches: To skin peaches, submerge in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove immediately and plunge into cold water. When peaches have cooled, skins should slip right off.
- If using fresh nectarines, just wash gently in cool water and drain in a colander.
- In a large bowl, combine peaches, nectarines, cinnamon and sugar. Set aside. (NOTE: I like to let them sit there for 15 minutes or so, or until the fruit starts to give up some juices. Don’t ask me why – I just do).
- In a food processor or other bowl, combine flour, sugar, and butter. Process until crumbly. If working by hand, blend ingredients together with a pastry blender or two knives until crumbly.
- Arrange nectarine &peach mixture in a 13x9 inch greased baking dish.
- Using your hands, sprinkle the crumb mixture over top of the fruit. If you squeeze your hands together to form clumps its all the better! That will form nice crunchy bits on top.
- Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until peach mixture bubbles and crust begins to brown.