Peach Crisp (Gluten-Free)

Twenty-two weeks. June and the heat is back and I am carrying extra warmth and the ceiling fans are on all day. Tyler comes home and checks the temperature in every room. I tell him it is fine. He adjusts the ceiling fans anyway. This is care. Adjusting ceiling fans because your pregnant wife is warm. I accept it completely.

I have been cooking things from Gloria recipes, more than usual, more intentionally than usual. I think I am trying to get them all right before the baby comes. Not that I will stop cooking after. But I want to have all of them fully in my hands before there is a small person who will eventually learn them from me. I made the field peas this week exactly. I made the sweet potato pie exactly. I made the cornbread exactly, with the preheated cast iron and the crispy bottom and the wedge cut. I wrote all three recipes down in a notebook. I have been writing recipes down all year. The notebook is almost full.

Gloria noticed I had written something down and asked to see it. I showed her. She read through the field peas and said I had the pepper right. She read through the sweet potato pie and said I had it right. She read through the cornbread and pointed at one line and said more butter in the pan than that. I updated it. More butter. Always more butter. Always more than you think.

After three weeks of writing recipes into a notebook—field peas, sweet potato pie, cornbread with more butter than I thought—I wanted to keep the momentum going with something that felt just as grounded and generous. This peach crisp is the kind of recipe Gloria would approve of: no shortcuts on the fruit, no skimping on the topping, and always, always more butter in the pan than seems reasonable. It felt right to add it to the notebook, too.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 55 minutes | Servings: 8

Ingredients

For the filling:
6 cups fresh or frozen peaches, peeled and sliced (about 6 medium peaches)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder
For the crisp topping:
1 1/2 cups certified gluten-free rolled oats
1/2 cup almond flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes (more than you think)

Instructions

Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9x13-inch baking dish or a 10-inch cast iron skillet.
Prepare the filling. In a large bowl, toss the sliced peaches with granulated sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and cornstarch until evenly coated. Pour into the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer.
Make the crisp topping. In a separate bowl, stir together the oats, almond flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the cold butter cubes and use your fingertips to work the butter into the oat mixture until it resembles coarse, clumpy crumbs with pea-sized pieces of butter throughout. Do not overwork—those uneven butter pieces are what make the topping crisp and golden.
Assemble and bake. Scatter the crisp topping evenly over the peach filling, covering it completely. Bake for 35–42 minutes, until the topping is deep golden brown and the peach filling is bubbling around the edges.
Rest before serving. Let the crisp rest for at least 10 minutes before scooping. Serve warm, on its own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Nutrition (per serving)

Peach Crisp (Gluten-Free) — The Recipe That Taught Me More Butter Than You Think