It’s summertime and that means fruits like strawberries, cherries, peaches, and blueberries are in season!  Whether you pick your own or buy them at local farmers’ markets or the grocery store, having them at home just says summer.

Last week I picked up a basket of peaches, specifically to make a crumble. When I was searching for recipes, I found tons and ended up making up my own.  Confession: I love the oat crumble on top of the fruit and I like it to be thick.  That’s why I ended up using a crumble topping recipe for a 9 by 13 inch pan on my 8 by 8 inch crumble!

Very quickly, I looked up the difference between a crisp, a crumble, and a cobbler – all are names associated with taking fruit and topping it with some combination that includes flour, sugar, and butter.  I was not the only one asking for clarification!  Kitchn.com and Huffington Post do a great job of explaining the differences and I will let you read their sites for more details.

Basically, a cobbler is made by scooping biscuits on to the fruit and hence the ‘cobbled’ appearance and name.  A crumble is made with oats while a crisp is not.  I like the thickness and texture of oats, so that’s why I made a crumble.

BTW, this recipe is very forgiving. It’s the perfect way to use up overripe fruits in any combinations. I’ve made it with a lot of peaches and just a handful of blueberries and strawberries and it’s been delicious. I’ve made it with apples and pears, too.

Here’s the recipe:

Peach and Strawberry Crumble
Filling Ingredients
3 cups peaches, peeled and sliced (8-9 medium peaches)
1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries (one pint)
2 T lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
1 1/2 T cornstarch
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c light brown sugar

Crumble Ingredients
1/2 c butter, softened
1 c flour
1 c large flake oats (not instant)
1 c light brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

Method

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Oil an 8 by 8 inch pan.
• Prepare the fruit.
• Mix the remaining filling ingredients together and toss with the fruit.
• Pour the filling into the prepared pan.
• Mix the crumble ingredients using a fork until well combined and spread over the fruit.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes until the filling is bubbly and the crumble is a golden brown.
• Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream or reheat later and enjoy again!

Enjoy!