You got the peaches? 

I got the cream. 

                                         

It's too doggone hot to bake. (Yes, I said doggone. Emphatic twang). Too hot to do anything really. (Decided after the steering wheel left char marks on my right palm).

But I had these ripe peaches and they were hanging out on my counter...

I didn't have the heart to toss them. So I cranked the oven to three-seventy-five.

(Musical intermission, anyone?)

Buttery, tangy, sweet, juicy. And perfectly portable.

These cobbler/custard/crumble bars have a lot to offer. Except shade.



Peach Custard Bars
{Recipe via Savvy Eats}

For the crust:

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Pinch of salt

For the filling:

1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 medium peaches, thinly sliced

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9×9 baking pan.

Stir the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon juice. (It'll fizz. Like an old school science fair volcano). Cut the butter into cubes, and work it into the flour until the crumbs are pea-sized. (If, like me, you're not a fancy person with a fancy food processor, a pastry cutter or two knives will do the trick).

Press the dough into the prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown and pull away from the sides of the pan.

While crust is baking, slice the peaches.  Stir together the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, flour, lemon juice and cinnamon until smooth. (At this point, I was all "doesn't this need an egg or something?" Baked up just fine and passed the taste test without one).

Pour the sweetened condensed milk concoction over the crust. Press peaches into it. (I made a pretty design, but no one's judging you for haphazardly heaping them on. Especially because, if you save a little crust mixture, you can throw it on top crumble-style and the peaches disappear underneath).

Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the top is slightly firm.  Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing and serving. (A la mode perhaps? I'm not saying you need vanilla ice cream, but c'mon... you need vanilla ice cream).