Peach Blueberry Crumble (with GF options)

Peach Blueberry Crumble – Now with Gluten Free Options!

I’m confused by this one a bit…

Crumble or Crisp? What would YOU call this delectable concoction of butter, oats, and sugar?

It’s a little like the argument Soda or Pop? (Psst…the answer, if you are from Missouri/Kansas is “Coke.” Everything is a coke. Rootbeer is a coke. Sprite is a coke. You ask someone, “Do you want a coke?” and the next question is always, “Sure, what kind?” We’re weirdos that way.)

Anyway, be it Crisp or Crumble, this combination of peaches & blueberries is a real winner and crumbles/crisps are one of the easier and quicker desserts to put together since there is no pesky crust to roll out.

Here’s what you need:

Peaches, Blueberries, Lemon, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Flour*, Oats, Cinnamon, Salt, Vanilla, and Cold Butter.

Click here for a Peach Blueberry Crumble Shopping List

*For the Gluten Free variety – you need your favorite GF All-Purpose Flour (I have Trader Joe’s) and Xanthan Gum. More on this later in the recipe.

*If you’re not Gluten Free, regular old all-purpose flour is all you need. 

If you are worried that Henry looks a little disgruntled in the ingredient photo above, fear not. He is just verrrrrry sleepy.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Rinse 1 pint of fresh blueberries and blot them dry with paper towels. Pick through the berries to remove any stems or funky shriveled berries.

I use the same technique to peel peaches as I do to peel tomatoes.

Cut a small X into the top of each peach. Heat a kettle or large pot of water until boiling and carefully pour the water over the peaches stopping half way to turn the peaches over to scald the other side.

Let the peaches rest for about 5 minutes and you will see the skins starting to pucker and shrivel.

Starting at the X you cut in the top, the skin should peel away.

Every now and then I get a peach that just won’t peel no matter how much I scald it. If that happens use a small paring knife or even a vegetable peeler to trim the skin away.

Like tomatoes, I tend to skin peaches when I am baking them IN something because otherwise the skin comes loose from the peach slice and floats weirdly around in your crumble or pie.

Slice the peaches away from the pit and into a large bowl. You want about 4 cups of peaches – about 5-6 depending on size. Add the blueberries to the bowl and grate in 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon zest (about 1/2 a lemon).

That lemon might look a little gnarly but I’m pretty proud of it because it came off our new little lemon tree! The tree is small but the lemons (Eureka variety) are HUGE!

Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract over the peaches. Add ½ cup regular white granulated sugar and 1/4 cup flour to the bowl.

If you are making this GF, use ¼ cup GF all-purpose flour and add a pinch of xanthan gum.

Gently stir to combine all of the ingredients and let it sit to make delicious juice while you prepare the crumble topping.

Add ½ cup flour to a large bowl, and if you are GF, also add ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum.

As a newly GF person, I have resisted using xanthan gum until now. It seemed weird to be adding it and I just didn’t really get the point. As a result, I didn’t bake many GF things that turned out very well. I even made cornmeal muffins, something that normally I can make in my sleep, that were a complete and total disaster.

If you’re interested in the long version, you can read about xanthan gum here, but the short version is that it helps gluten free baked goods have elasticity and hold together. Despite it’s Weird Science name, it’s actually a natural product that in my opinion, just needs much better marketing.

Once again, if you’re not gluten free, skip this and simply use 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour.

Add ½ cup old fashioned oats, 1/3 cup lightly packed brown sugar, and ¼ cup granulated sugar.

Season with a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Mix all of these dry ingredients thoroughly together with a spoon or spatula.

Cut 6 Tablespoons of COLD butter (that’s ¾ of a stick) into small cubes and add them to the bowl.

Get in there with clean hands and start to work the butter into the oat & sugar mixture. You will have to sort of smoosh it between your fingers to get i to stick together.

It will seem to not be going anywhere at first but as the butter starts to warm up in your fingers, it will adhere to the oats and sugar making a crumbly topping.

Work through the butter until you have a nicely integrated mixture.

By now the fruit is juicy and lovely. You can either bake this in one big dish using a 2 quart baking dish…

OR you can make it in individual servings or ramekins. Be sure to select only dishes that are oven safe. I have 4 baking ramekins and 2 pyrex “soufflé” cups.

Whether you use one large dish or individual dishes, you ABSOLUTELY MUST place these on a pan covered with foil or parchment paper as they WILL bubble over in your oven.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you if you skip this step and have burned fruit in the bottom of your oven.

I’m a big fan of individual desserts. (Hello, cupcakes!) Ramekins can be used for all sorts of other things (shrimp & scallops are a favorite here) so they’re a good investment. Plus, they’re usually pretty affordable. IKEA and Target both have some cool ones if you feel the need to add them to your kitchen.

Divide the crumbly topping between the ramekins.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes until the fruit is bubbly and the crumbly topping is golden brown.

These are best served slightly warm so if you need to bake them ahead, you can reheat them for a few minutes in a low oven.

They’re really good just as they are but I wouldn’t say no to a nice scoop of good vanilla bean ice cream!

You need to make this while summer fruits are still ripe and plentiful. However, don’t forget about this when apples, pears, and cranberries are in season!

Here’s the recipe – Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod

Peach Blueberry Crumble