Peach Crumble

For this week's edition of Grey's Anatomy family night,  I needed the perfect crock dessert.  An experimental crock crumble sounded like it might go well with the Roasted Corn Chowder.  I had 3 giant  peaches leftover from the Peach Apricot Cherry Raisin Chutney and a frozen pound bag of  peaches taking up fridge space.  Sold!  Peach Crumble it is.

This was too easy.  Home at lunch, fire up the crock, dump in peaches, cover.  On my earlier trip to Winco, I had measured out the exact portions for most of the topping ingredients.  I dumped them into the food processor, cut up my butter, added whatever else was on the topping list and pulsed a bit.  I had enough time left to kick off my shoes, nuke the last of the Minestrone for lunch, do all the dishes, spread the topping and program the crock before I went back to work.  Later, I loaded the crock in the car with the lid on it.  I uncovered the lid once I arrived.

Winner, Loser or Meh

Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner.  This was exceptional.  Very mellow flavor and texture, not too sweet.  The fam already had some whipped cream and vanilla ice cream in their fridge. Served warm, it was the perfect match.  When it cooled completely, the topping formed a firm crust, also excellent.  Assuming this stays around long enough, a tablespoon or two of this would taste great in hot breakfast cereal.

Recipe

I used a large oval crock pot for this.
See Tips: Peeling Peaches

Ingredients

• 2 pounds fresh or frozen firm ripe peaches, peeled, pitted, sliced thick (I used 1/2 of each)
  

 Topping

• 3/4 cup quick cooking oats
• 3/4 cup whole wheat unbleached flour
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• fresh ground nutmeg, to taste (I did 10 twists, see: very cool cheap nutmeg grinder)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cold butter, cut into chunks

Spray crock with no-stick spray or grease with butter.  Put crock pot on high.  Place peaches evenly on the bottom of the crock.  Cover & cook for 30-45 minutes.  Place all other ingredients into food processor and pulse a few times to cut butter into dry ingredients.  This can also be done with a pastry cutter, or a knife and fork in a bowl.  Spread the topping evenly over the peaches, leaving a 1/2 inch border between the topping and the sides of the crock to prevent burning.  Cook on low until the fruit is tender. About  2 1/2 to 3 hours.  Uncover and let cool for 15 minutes before serving.