Cook on a Whim: Brown Butter Peach Crisp

What can I say about summertime peaches that you don’t already know?

They are just the best. I wait all year for them (also tomatoes, but let’s not get sidetracked). Fresh peaches with vanilla ice cream are one of life’s greatest, simplest pleasures. But if you want to elevate that just a bit, make this brown butter peach crisp. It is a delicious celebration of perfect, ripe, summertime peaches.

The brown butter adds the perfect nutty, salty, butteriness to the juicy, sweet/tart peaches. This version has warm, bubbling peaches, a higher than usual crumble-to-fruit ratio and a lot less sugar than most crisp/crumble recipes. Top with a big dollop of freshly whipped cream or some vanilla bean ice cream.

Yes. Just yes. Go grab some peaches at the farmer’s market this weekend and make this.

I made a smallish amount, but feel free to double everything and bake in a larger dish or skillet. This recipe makes about 4 to 5 servings.

I hope you make it and I hope you love it!

Brown Butter Peach Crisp

Ingredients

For brown butter:

2 sticks butter

For filling:

5 ripe peaches, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) brown butter at room temperature

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

For crumble:

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup (1 stick) brown butter at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

Photo by Anita Parris Soule. Courtesy Cook on a Whim.

instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Place 2 sticks butter in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Cook until melted and foaming. Stirring occasionally, continue to cook until foaming subsides and butter begins to brown. Use a spoon to push foam so you can monitor the color. I usually live dangerously and crank the heat to speed up the process. If you do this, just make sure to remove the pan from the heat at the first sign of browning, as the butter will continue to brown just a bit off the heat.

Once brown, pour butter into a bowl and allow to come to room temperature.

In an 8-by-8-inch square baking dish or a small skillet (I used an 8-inch cast iron skillet), combine all filling ingredients and toss to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine all crumble ingredients and mix to combine. I use my hands and really squeeze everything together until little clumps begin to form.

Sprinkle crumble generously over peaches and bake in preheated oven for about 25 minutes until peaches are bubbling and crumble has browned slightly.

Top with whipped cream or ice cream or just dig in.

tagsAnita Parris Soulebrown butterCook on a Whimdessertsfarmers marketpeach crisp