Peaches and bourbon were meant to be together. The vanilla-scented sweetness of the bourbon perfectly contrasts the bright acidity of the peaches, and the sweet and salty oat topping brings it all together.
I am not usually one for fruit desserts (if there’s chocolate or caramel or peanut butter on the dessert menu I will, without a doubt, veer in that direction versus the fruity option). But. However. That said. Every so often I surprise myself by making a fruit dessert that really hits the spot. This is one of those desserts.
Complete with sticky sweet bourbon-spiked peaches and topped with a sweet and salty and, most importantly, crunchy topping of buttery oats and brown sugar, this skillet peach crisp is a thing of beauty. The topping here is actually virtually identical to my dulce de leche crumb bars, if you can believe it. Talk about a versatile recipe! What makes it a crisp and not a cobbler or a crumble, you ask? Well, cobblers are typically topped with dollops of biscuit-like dough. Crumbles and crisps are very similar, but crisps typically contain oats in the topping (which amps up the crunch factor) and crumbles usually don’t. I say that although the only other crisp/crumble/cobbler I’ve ever posted contains oats and yet I still called that one a crumble, so take all of this with a grain of salt.
Being that it’s just two of us, I used one of these adorable 6 1/2-inch cast iron skillets, which made a generous 4 servings. For a larger batch, use a 9 or 10 inch skillet or even a 9-inch cake pan if you prefer, simply double the recipe below. The process will be identical, just increase the baking time a bit to account for the extra volume.
The little bit of cornstarch turns all of the luscious peach juices into a glorious thick and gooey filling. I know a lot of crisp recipes skip this completely, but I really can’t stand a runny filling. Also be sure you let your crisp sit for a good 20-30 minutes before diving in; this will help the filling set up even more.
While I stuck to peaches, I think this recipe would also be fabulous with a handful of blackberries or raspberries thrown in there too! Also, if you happened to miss out on the tail end of peach season, I think this recipe would be absolutely fabulous with apples or pears. Total Time: 1 hour
