Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge!!!!! + Recipe Write Up: Peaches and Cream Streusel Bars

Over the last few years, I have become quite the blog reader. What started with just a few websites has grown to be a folder that includes about 30 or so links to various blogs. Besides reading about different recipes, ogling beautiful food photography, and obsessively clicking through various blogrolls, I have, on occasion, come across a post or two that would mention the phrase ‘blog hop’. Confused, I did what any child of the internet era would do, I went to Wikipedia to give me an explanation. Well, when good old Wiki let me down, I did the second best thing out there on the internet, I Googled the term. This is what I learned.

Blog Hop

A blog hop is a set time frame where a group of authors post about a topic and share links to the other blogs so readers can go to them.

Amused and inspired, I decided to get in on the blog hopping action. The group that was crazy enough to accept a novice food blogger like myself? Behind the Curtain Dessert Challenge. While some blog hop groups like to bake/cook their way through cookbooks, this group dedicates each month to a different flavor combination. Last month, for example, was blueberries and lemon. Remember that lemon chiffon cake that I ranted about? Yea, that was supposed to be for July’s blog hop. Well, I can proudly say that I not only managed to complete my dessert on time, but that it came out tasting fantastic as well.

For August, the flavor combination was peaches and cream. Since I had never baked with peaches before, I was super excited to be able to participate. As for what to bake, I decided to do another bar dessert. After all, the last bar dessert I made came out great! I strongly suggest   giving this recipe a try while peaches are still in season. I can assure you, you and whoever you feed these bars to, won’t be disappointed.

Special thanks to Sheryl of LadyBehindtheCurtain.com for creating this blog hop as well as letting me participate. Congrats to everyone else who participated this month as well.

Peaches and Cream Streusel Bars

Adapted from a recipe found at sallysbakingaddiction.com

Crust and Topping
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/3 cup light brown sugar
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
A pinch of nutmeg

Peach Filling
1 Large Egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 medium peaches, peeled and chopped (should be about 1/2 cup)

Vanilla Glaze
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoon milk (may need more depending on what consistency you want)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven 350F. Line an 8×8 baking pan with aluminum foil with enough hanging on the sides for removal. Spray with nonstick spray.

2. For the crust and topping: whisk the flour, oats, brown sugar, until combined. Add the cold putter and mix with food processor or fork until it becomes coarse and crumbs and small and pea sized. Remove 3/4 cps of the mixture and set aside in small bowl. This will be the top crust. Add 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and the nutmeg and mix to combine. Press the remaining mixture into the prepared pan evenly and bake for 15 minutes.
*You can add 1 whole teaspoon of cinnamon to the crust/topping before dividing it up too. I did it this way because I forgot to add the cinnamon until after the crust was in the oven*.

3. For the filling: whisk the egg and sugar together until smooth and creamy. Add the flour and salt. Whisk until combined. Fold in the peaches. Pour the filling over the hot crust and cover with the remaining crumb topping. Bake for 30-32 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool in pan for about a half hour before removing. Place in fridge to chill for two hours before serving.

4. For glaze: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla extract together until smooth. Drizzle over dessert. (I took mine out of the fridge halfway through, drizzled the glaze and put it back in the fridge to set).

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