Until recently, baking wasn’t something I did very often…I’ve always thought of it as boring and overly formulaic. The primary reason I love to cook (aside from how much I love to eat) is the way you can craft and create a dish as you go; I dig the creativity. When I think up a recipe, I don’t think in terms of cups and tablespoons: I think in terms of flavors and palettes. So, for me, baking – which requires a bit of science – never seemed all that appealing. Turns out, I was like, pretty wrong about what baking can really be, and I’ve only just scratched the surface.
In the last few months, I’ve developed a few foundation recipes that have become the basis for some pretty delicious foods I eat almost daily. I love to have a high-protein snack when I get done at the gym in the morning, but I find that a lot of post-workout go-to’s, like protein bars, are just too high in calories or sugar for me to feel good eating them. I decided a while back that I’d try to make my own post-workout protein snack and, after some trial and error, I came up with the recipe for what are now my favorite muffins, and the best part is how I can change the fillings to whatever I’m craving at the moment without having to reinvent the recipe wheel.
As it turns out, baking can definitely be a creative, spontaneous process, and I’m really loving learning how to make it work for me these days. This recipe is an extension of that: you can use whatever fruit ya feel like – I went with canned peaches and store-bought blueberries, but you could certainly use fresh fruit (I just couldn’t be bothered to peel and cut peaches) or whatever you’ve got on-hand, just be sure to add some simple syrup to any fruit you choose if it’s not canned in syrup already. The crumble topping is also versatile, and I made it with ingredients that I already had in my cabinets – seriously, I didn’t have to buy a single additional thing to get this topping mixed and ready to go. I love the pretzels in this dish, they add a subtle saltiness that compliments the sweet fruits perfectly, but you could certainly swap them for any kind of nut, or go for broke and have both. Oats could be added for a little extra protein and texture, and any ‘desserty’ spice, like cinnamon, nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice (’tis the season) would be a welcome addition to the recipe.
If you need to make this ahead for any reason, that’s not a problem: you can get it ready for the oven and then store it in the fridge for a few hours before you bake it. I served this with some whipped topping, but it would be great with good vanilla ice cream, or just on its own. Here’s how I do it.
Easy Peach & Blueberry Bake With Pretzel Crumb Topping
This dessert could not be easier to make and you can play around with the ingredients to have it just the way you like it.
Ingredients
For the Fruit Filling
- 3 14.5 oz Canned Peaches in Extra Light Syrup {drained}
- 1/2-3/4 cup Fresh blueberries
- 2 tbsp Peach syrup reserved from the can
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
For the Pretzel Crumb Topping
- 1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 cup Turbinado Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/2 cup Melted, room temp butter
- 1 cup Mini pretzels {slightly crushed}
Instructions
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Preheat an oven to 375 degrees and butter a 9x13 baking dish.
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Transfer the peaches and blueberries to the baking dish and drizzle with 2 tbsp of the reserved peach syrup from the can. Sprinkle the cinnamon over the fruit and stir to combine.
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Combine all ingredients for the crumble, reserving the egg for last. As you incorporate the egg, the dry ingredients will stick together and start to form the crumble.
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Dollop the crumble over the fruit until the fruit is almost completely covered by the topping.
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Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes, until the topping is brown and the fruit is hot and bubbly, Serve with whipped topping or ice cream, if desired. Enjoy!
