Name: Butterscotch Peach Crisp with Fresh Peaches
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1/4 cup melted butter; 1/2 cup brown sugar; 1/4 cup heavy cream; 1 tablespoon bourbon or vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 2 1/2 pounds peaches; 1 cup flour; 1/2 cup rolled oats; 1/2 cup cold butter; 1/3 cup brown sugar; 1/2 teaspoon ginger; 1/4 teaspoon salt

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This butterscotch peach crisp is a deliciously satisfying summer dessert. We take fresh peaches soaked in a rich butterscotch sauce, layer them in a pie pan with a generous amount of crispy rolled oat topping, and oven-bake it until golden brown. The juicy peaches and crunchy topping combine for an explosion of buttery flavor. Serve it with vanilla bean ice cream or a whipped cream dollop for an iconic taste of summer.

Ripe peaches, crispy oatmeal, and subtle undertones of vanilla and oak are in every bite of this bourbon peach crisp. Save room for dessert!

A Summertime Dessert Loaded with Peaches

One of my favorite things about summer is how many delicious fruits are in season, seemingly all at once, and I am absolutely spoiled for choice. You know, when everything is ripe and ready to eat out of hand? It can be so hard to choose which fresh fruit dessert to indulge in. Do I go with the strawberry shortcake? The rhubarb crisp? The blueberry ice cream?

Today, I’m shoving all of those aside to introduce you to this iconic summertime delight – my butterscotch peach crisp. It’s a spinoff of my beloved butterscotch apple crisp, with slight adjustments that take that fall dessert and turn it into this summertime delight.

What You Need

To make this recipe easier, I’ve broken it down into three sections in both the ingredients and instructions sections: the butterscotch sauce, the peach filling, and the rolled oat topping. You’re going to need butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, bourbon or vanilla extract, peaches, flour, rolled oats, ground ginger, and salt to make this deliciousness.

Remember: Just like when you make overnight oats or bakery-style oatmeal cookies, the type of oats you use matters. Steel cut and instant oats will not work. You must use rolled oats (aka old-fashioned oats).

Bourbon Peach Crisp: Yellow and white peaches picked from the tree and washed.

Featured Ingredient: Fresh Peaches

The one thing that makes this recipe stand out is that we use fresh peaches instead of frozen or canned. In the summer, I like to pick up peaches by the case from my local farmer’s market, and if peaches are native to your area, I highly recommend it!

Often, the farmers will have different varieties that you can sample. There may be white or orange peaches, and sometimes, they have varieties where the flesh blends from orange to purple as it gets closer to the skin. You can only get peaches like these at farmers’ markets or roadside stands, and they are heavenly! (You’ll see why I buy them by the case!!)
Once you get them home, you’ll have to pick and choose when to use them. While you should obviously be making this peach crisp, you can also try my peach crumble bars, my strawberry peach smoothie, or go for a savory slant with this grilled steak with peaches or the peach mango cilantro sauce I serve with steak. If you want to savor them for a few days, you’ve got to try them sliced and served with brown sugar granola.

Now that you’ve heard me rave about fresh peaches, I will confess that you absolutely can make this recipe with (thawed) frozen or (rinsed and drained) canned peaches. It will taste pretty dang good too, but when you use fresh peaches, the texture is a little firmer, and the flavor is just more over the top.

Instructions to Make A Butterscotch Peach Crisp

Make the Butterscotch Sauce

Caramel Sauce — Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once it’s liquid and foamy, stir in the brown sugar. The mixture will be fairly thick. Continue to cook until tiny bubbles start to form on the edge of the pan.

Caramel Sauce 2 — Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once it’s liquid and foamy, stir in the brown sugar. The mixture will be fairly thick. Continue to cook until tiny bubbles start to form on the edge of the pan.

Make the Peach Filling

While the caramel is cooling, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice the peaches into chunks or slivers, depending on your personal preference. I like them to be smaller than bite-size so that I can fit a whole pile of them on the fork along with the decadent butterscotch sauce. Place them in a large bowl with 1/2 cup of the caramel sauce. Stir to coat and let rest.

Bourbon Peach Crisp: peaches being sliced and chopped.

Make the Crisp Topping

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, ginger, and salt. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Chop your butter into 1/2-inch pieces, then crumble it into the rolled oat mixture using your hands or a pastry cutter. Once mixed with the dry ingredients, the butter chunks should be no larger than pea-sized.

Bourbon Peach Crisp: streusel topping, sliced peaches, and a pie pan

Assemble the Peach Crisp

To assemble the butterscotch peach crisp, pour 1/4 cup of the butterscotch sauce into the bottom of a 10″ inch pie pan, spreading it evenly across the surface. Scoop the peaches into the pan next, leaving any extra liquid behind in the bowl. This liquid is the difference between a thick sauce and a watery sauce when it’s time to eat your crisp.

Top the peaches with the crumbly crisp topping, then drizzle on any remaining butterscotch sauce. Bake at 350ºF for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top turns a rich golden brown and you can see the peach filling bubbling up.

Serving Suggestions

This butterscotch peach crisp tastes great straight from the oven, but it tastes great cold, too! If you like, top it with some vanilla bean ice cream or sweetened whipped cream for a decadent treat.

How to Store and Reheat

Store this crisp the same way you would a homemade pie. If covered and left out, it should last a day or two at room temperature. However, if it’s sweltering in your kitchen, you may want to store it in the fridge.

If you wish, you can serve it reheated by popping the whole thing back into a warm oven or warming individual portions in the microwave. Personally, I think I love the leftovers best at room temperature.

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