Peach Amaretti Crisp -- The Cinnamon, the Cobbler, and the Cracked Wooden Spoon

Jack's garden operation grows more ambitious every year. The greenhouse, the market sales, the Farm Fund jar that now holds over three hundred dollars. He's 13 and he farms the way some kids play video games — obsessively, joyfully, with the deep understanding that this is not a hobby but a vocation wearing a hobby's clothes.

The recipe this week: peach cobbler. Standing at the stove, Marlene's wooden spoon in my hand (the cracked one, the one that will outlast us all), the recipe either from the card box or from my own expanding collection, both equally real, both equally mine. The kitchen holds all of it — the old recipes and the new ones, the teacher's food and the student's food, the grief and the joy and the cinnamon. All of it. Always.

Canning approaches. August. The ritual that marks the turn from growing to preserving, from garden to pantry, from the sun to the jar. The pressure canner — Marlene's mother's, weight jiggly, gauge lying, handle replaced twice — waiting in the closet like a veteran reporting for duty. The heirloom equipment for the heirloom work.

The peach cobbler I mentioned stirring at the stove—Marlene’s spoon in hand, cinnamon in the air—led me straight to this Peach Amaretti Crisp the very next day. It felt like the natural next step: same fruit, same season, same spirit of preserving something beautiful before August slips away. The amaretti crumble adds a little surprise, a little joy, the kind of thing Jack would notice and ask about while he’s counting his Farm Fund money at the kitchen table.

Peach Amaretti Crisp

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 6 cups fresh peaches, peeled and sliced (about 6 medium peaches)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup amaretti cookies, coarsely crushed (about 3 oz)
• 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
• Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9-inch baking dish or equivalent-size cast iron skillet.
2. Prepare the peaches. In a large bowl, toss the sliced peaches with granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until evenly coated. Pour into the prepared baking dish and spread in an even layer.
3. Make the amaretti topping. In a separate bowl, combine the crushed amaretti cookies, oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add the cold butter cubes and use your fingertips to work the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse, clumpy crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining.
4. Assemble and bake. Scatter the amaretti crumble evenly over the peach filling. Bake for 35—40 minutes, until the topping is deep golden brown and the peach juices are bubbling around the edges.
5. Rest and serve. Let the crisp rest for at least 10 minutes before serving. Spoon into bowls and top with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if desired. Best served warm.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 340 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 54g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 115mg