Classic Blueberry Peach Crisp

Juicy peaches, tender, sweet blueberries, and a crispy streusel topping make this classic blueberry peach crisp a late-summer staple. The recipe comes together in just a few minutes and allows the flavors of the peaches and blueberries to mingle and shine as they bake to bubbling perfection in the oven.

These two fruits are part of the wonderful bounty of late summer. And they are such a complementary combination, a treat for both the taste buds and the eyes. Baking them into a juicy bursting-with-flavor fruit crisp feels like a grateful way to honor the fruits of the earth and to stay in touch with the natural rhythms of our seasons.

It often feels like such a rush at the end of the summer, while we try to pack in everything we wanted to do in the warm weather, plus the start of school makes many schedules change. Paying attention to the fruits and vegetables in season helps me to mark the passage of time in a meaningful way.

I love making trips to the local farmers markets, or even better, stopping by roadside farm stands close to my home. I find the freshest and most tender sweet corn and tomatoes at a farm just down the road and around the corner. I also love the hues of late-summer produce, the golden peaches, jeweled indigo blueberries, the deep red tomatoes and sun-drenched yellow of sweet corn. Not to mention the refreshing greens of cucumbers and zucchini.

The blueberries in this crisp come from a friend of a friend in South Haven, Michigan, and I found that the Michigan peaches at Meijer are delicious this year, and reasonably priced. I appreciate that Meijer is a large grocery store that also makes an effort to carry local produce.

You may have noticed that there are a couple of recipes on this blog with the blueberry and peach combination, such as peach blueberry muffins. You may also have noticed that there several fruit crisp recipes on this blog, such as easy stovetop apple crisp. I really enjoy baking with fruit and making fruit crisps all throughout the year, depending on which fruits are in season or in my freezer. The recipe for this classic blueberry peach crisp is simple and pure, honed after lots of practice.

One advantage of fruit crisp is that it is healthy enough to eat with breakfast, yet sweet enough to serve for dessert. Some like to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream with it. Another advantage is that it is so easy to make! As much as I like to dive into making a good homemade pie, crisps are much easier. And quite often these days, easier is necessary.

You can use either around pie plate or a square baking dish for this recipe. This time I used my cerise (Le Creuset’s term for deep red) Le Creuset square baking dish that my aunt got for me at an estate sale a few years ago. It is a special dish to me that not only feels really good in the hands, but also reminds me of the sweetness of my aunt.

In addition to cherishing local produce, I have been enjoying a cup of coffee on the porch this summer, before getting ready for work. The sunrise a couple of days ago was so beautiful, with the sun shining through the morning fog, creating a peach/pink gauzy haze and the dew glistening on the green grass. I hope you all have a good week and cherish these last three weeks of summer before the autumnal equinox.