My obsession with crumble bars/pie bars continues. There was a point in time I made them super often, but I got away from it for some reason. My love was rediscovered with these berry crumble bars and I’m not looking back.
Especially with all of the amazing summer fruits! The peaches and plums are AMAZING in these bars. Any baked dessert with peaches is incredible in my opinion. I thought the plums would be a nice addition because they’re a little more tart! Love them too, but there’s nothing like a really good peach.
I wanna make these with every fruit. Berries would be wonderful, or all all strawberry version would be SO good. I’m loving this crust recipe because it gets so crunchy and it’s the perfect amount of sweetness.
And let’s be real. Pie bars are SO much easier than making pies. I can’t make an attractive looking pie to save my life. Which is why I also go for these.
I tend to put vanilla bean in nearly all of my desserts because I love it so much, and these are no exception to my rule. I haven’t made too many vanilla bean peach things, but I’m SO glad I did. Oh my gosh. I can’t get over the flavor here.
I had these as “breakfast dessert” the morning I was shooting these, and it was SO hard to stop at one. They aren’t sickeningly sweet whatsoever, so they’re perfect for an afternoon treat with a cup of coffee or tea..or even breakfast. Because why the heck not?
And for the crumble topping, don’t even get me started. Who else picks the crumble off of things? That would be me.
My family HATES the fact that I’m always picking off of everything. I’ve done it for as long as I can remember. Half eaten cookie? It’s got to be Molly. Banana bread with all of the crumble picked off? Molly. Muffins with streusel picked off? Definitely Molly. Brownies with a million forkfuls taken out? M-O-L-L-Y.
And I’m not sorry about it at all. It just tastes better that way! Who agrees?
I definitely did it with these too.
Don’t forget the vanilla ice cream!
Vanilla Bean Peach Plum Pie Crumble Bars
These vanilla bean peach plum pie bars are the perfect treat to make to use up all your summer peaches and plums! They're infused with vanilla bean too!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 medium peaches, diced
- 2 small black plums, diced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- seeds from one vanilla bean
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350℉. Line a 8x8 glass baking dish with parchment paper and spray all sides with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, vanilla, brown sugar, ¼ cup of the sugar, and salt. Add the flour and stir until mixture forms a dough. Press ¾ of the mixture into the bottom of the baking dish to create the crust. Reserve the other ¼ of the mixture for the crumble topping.
Place the diced peaches and plums in a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice and cornstarch and toss. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the vanilla bean seeds. Massage them together in your fingers until combined. Add to the peaches and plums and toss to combine.
Pour the fruit mixture over the crust evenly. Crumble the remaining crust/crumble mixture over the bars.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the crumble is golden. Let cool completely before cutting into bars, this will ensure they stay together. If you don't care about the aesthetic, serve them warm with vanilla ice cream!
CK
Made ’em yesterday! I usually prefer chocolate desserts but wanted something a little more sophisticated for dinner at the in-laws. Used only peaches and didn’t have vanilla bean (so used a little extract in the filling) but these are still awesome. I packed the bottom crust too tightly, so will remember that for next time so it’s a bit more tender. Will be trying with different fruit combinations because these were a hit.
Curious if you have an affordable (yet good quality) place from which you like to buy vanilla beans?
Two for two on your recipes! I’m happy to have a new place for inspiration.
Spices in My DNA
Thank you so much! So happy you enjoyed them!!! And yes, they’d be great with whatever fruit you have on hand and whatever is in season! For vanilla beans, I like to buy them at Costco because they’re a lot more affordable than buying them at the grocery store. If you belong to a wholesale club like that, I’d highly recommend looking for them there – I know they’re so expensive 🙁 I’m so happy you found my site and thank you so much for your kind words! <3