This easy Peach Bars recipe features a tender, buttery base that’s flavored with almond and topped with sweet, juicy peaches. Finished with a drizzle of sweet almond glaze, this is a favorite summer treat!
I have a love-hate relationship with August. On one hand I hate that summer is coming to an end. And on the other hand, I love all the awesome, beautiful fresh produce that peaks during this month – I wait all year long for sweet, juicy peaches! My favorite way to enjoy them is super simple, all on their own. But I also like to bake with peaches, and this easy Peach Bars recipe is a family favorite. We love the soft, almond-flavored bar that’s layered with summertime’s sweetest peaches!
Why We Love These Peach Bars
The first time I made this bars recipe many years ago, our two daughters fell head over heels for it. The soft, tender bars and juicy fresh peaches won their little hearts! This easy peach dessert is a twist on a favorite childhood treat of mine, my mom’s cherry square bars. Here’s why we love it:
- When you don’t feel like making pie… Make peach bars! My mom’s peach pie is my favorite pie in the whole world, and this easy bars recipe definitely gives off that same vibe – but the bars are much quicker and easier to make!
- Highlights the best of the season. I think it’s difficult to find sweet, juicy peaches outside of August; I just never have any luck! So it’s fun to have recipes that let us indulge in their short season of perfection. Other favorites include peach bread and super easy peach cake.
- A crowd-pleaser. These bars are a great option for summer potlucks, picnics, and backyard bbq’s. You can even serve them straight from the pan, as an easy handheld dessert!
IngredientS Needed
Gather up these ingredients – let’s make this easy peach dessert! First you’ll make the base of the bars, then you’ll make the fresh peach filling and almond glaze. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredient amounts.
BARS
- Butter – Soften unsalted butter to room temperature so it mixes easily.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar sweetens the base of the bars.
- Eggs – This helps to bind the bars together, plus offers rich flavor and texture.
- Vanilla – Pure vanilla extract adds delicious flavor.
- Almond extract – Peaches and almond flavoring are so very lovely together. I add almond extract to the bars for a sweet, nutty note.
- Flour – Be sure to use the spoon & level method when measuring the all-purpose flour.
- Salt – A little bit of salt contrasts with the sweetness and heightens all the flavors.
PEACH FILLING
- Peaches – You’ll need about 5 cups of sliced fresh peaches for the filling. Make sure they’re sweet and juicy.
- Brown sugar – You can use light or dark brown sugar to accent the natural sweetness of the fruit.
- Spices – Ground cinnamon and a pinch of cardamom add delicious warm flavor and beautiful scent.
ALMOND GLAZE
- Powdered sugar – This provides the sweet base for the glaze.
- Cream – I use heavy cream to create the drizzly glaze, but half & half or whole milk will also work.
- Almond extract – For an extra hint of almond flavor.
Choosing Perfect Peaches
The perfect peach is deeply yellow and feels just slightly soft when you give it a gentle squeeze. Avoid peaches that are overly mushy or have visible bruising (you can use any over-ripe peaches for a batch of peach freezer jam). In addition, a perfectly ripe peach will smell sweet and peachy
I prefer to use ripe, fresh peaches for all my peach recipes to take advantage of peach season, but you can use frozen peaches if needed. Buy a bag of sliced peaches and add them to the filling in place of the fresh peaches. There’s no need to defrost the peaches, but do note that you may need to add a few more minutes of baking time if you use frozen peaches.
How to Make Peach Bars
Here’s a look at how to make this recipe. Find the detailed instructions in the recipe card lower down.
- Prepare. Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 13” x 18″ rimmed sheet pan.
- Cream butter & sugar. In the bowl of an electric mixer cream together the butter and sugar.
- Beat in eggs. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- Add remaining ingredients. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts, flour, and salt.
- Spread dough in pan. Spread ¾ of the dough into the prepared pan.
- Mix peach filling. Fold together the peaches, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom.
- Add peach filling. Spread the peach filling evenly over the dough.
- Dollop & bake. Drop the remaining ¼ of the dough over the peach layer in cobbler-like dollops, then bake for about 35 minutes.
- Mix the glaze. Stir together powdered sugar, cream, and almond extract.
- Add glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled bars, then cut and serve.
Tips & Variation Ideas
Make this easy peach bar recipe as written, or play around with the spices and a few other additions. Or, use it as a base to incorporate other juicy seasonal fruit!
- Use BEST peaches. This is my #1 tip. If you don’t have sweet, juicy peaches, don’t even bother making this recipe. Blunt, I know. But it’s simply not worth your time otherwise!
- Don’t over bake. For bars that are perfectly moist and tender, be sure to not bake too long, which can make the bars dry.
- Other spices. Another lovely flavor that complements peaches is ginger. Try adding some ground ginger along with the cinnamon and cardamom.
- Use other stone fruit. You can substitute 5 cups of sliced yellow peaches with white peaches, yellow peaches, or nectarines. Plums are also lovely. Just make sure that whatever you use, that it’s sweet and juicy.
- Add almonds. If you like to include nuts, play up the almond flavor in these peach bars by sprinkling 1/2 cup of sliced almonds over the dough dollops at the end, right before you put the pan in the oven.
Storing Your Bars
These sweet peach bars keep very well, and you can freeze some for another time. Here are the best ways to store any leftover bars:
- Counter – Cover the bars tightly with a lid or foil, or move them to another airtight container. Store on the counter for up to 4 days.
- Fridge – Place the bars in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 6 days.
- Freezer – Cut the cooled bars into squares and place them in an airtight, freezer-safe container, with parchment paper in between layers, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
More Peach Recipes
Peach Bars
Ingredients
Bars:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at softened room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon Morton kosher salt
Peach filling:
- 5 cups peeled and thinly-sliced, fresh ripe & juicy peaches (from about 4 to 5 large peaches)
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch cardamom
Almond glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons cream
- ½ teaspoon pure almond extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 13'' x 18" rimmed sheet pan with nonstick baking spray and set aside.
Bars:
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, incorporating well after each addition.
- Add vanilla and almond extracts, and mix just to combine.
- Slowly add flour and salt, and mix until just incorporated.
- Spread ¾ of the bars dough into prepared pan in an even layer.
Peach filling:
- In a medium bowl, fold together the peaches, brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom.
- Add peach filling over the bars dough in an even layer.
- Using a teaspoon, drop the remaining ¼ of the bars dough over the peach layer, for a cobbler-like appearance.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the edges start to turn golden brown.
Almond glaze:
- Stir together powdered sugar, cream, and almond extract until completely smooth. To thicken, add a little bit of powdered sugar. To thin, add a little bit of water. Drizzle glaze over the bars while the bars are still just slightly warm.
- Allow bars and glaze to cool completely. Then cut into squares and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
This post was originally published in 2013, then updated in 2024.
Just made this recipe with fresh Georgia peaches. It turned out delicious. Thank you for another fabulous recipe.
Wonderful! Wish I could have a piece!!
Can you freeze this recipe?
Yes, this freezes well.
This recipe had been sitting on one of my Pinterest boards forever and I finally decided to make it this weekend. Oh goodness, I only wish I’d tried these sooner. Because we really love fruit, my family and I spent quite a bit of time brainstorming all the different versions of this we can make–blackberry? Pear? Strawberry? Needless to say, we’re excited about the possibilities here. This is one heavenly dessert!
So happy to hear this, Madelyn! And yes, I think the varieties are pretty endless. I grew up with my mom making this with canned cherries – I’m not a huge canned cherries fan any more, but I still love those bars!
These bars are delicious ! Making them for the second time. Everyone loved them
Yay!!!! So happy to hear this, Debbie!
Just made these beautiful bars!!! I can’t wait to try them. My house smells delish! How do I store the leftovers? I’m really hoping for leftovers!!! Do they need to be refrigerated? Thank you so much!
Hi from the UK. I made your cake this evening. Wow- it’s amazing. I had to adapt it a bit as a) I only had self raising flour (all purpose flour with baking powder already added) b) I had two egg yolks left over and I added those to the other yolks. c) I was in a hurry and wanted the butter to melt quickly so I put it on defrost in the microwave, it was almost liquid by the time I remembered to get it out. I had to cook it a bit longer but the result was just fantastic. The pastry was soft and a little bit chewy and completely delicious.
I don’t know if it was supposed to be like that but I’ll be making a completely strict to the recipe version and keeping the original one as well. thanks so much. I’ve made lots of your recipes and they always worked really well.
These are delicious…it is March so I used home canned peaches…still very tasty. DH doesn’t have a huge sweet tooth so I just sprinkled the brown sugar mix over the fruit before baking and called it a day. Lots of those glass jars still in the pantry…I’ll make this again!
That’s awesome, Rob. Hope you enjoy many more pans of these peach squares!
I’m sure I would like this with the special flavors in it like the cardamom and the almond extract. Can you believe I’m still getting peaches from Costco? I love that. Call it seasonal denial, but I don’t stop buying them until they are gone.
I wouldn’t be able to stop buying them, either!! :)
What is Cardamom? Can I substitute with something else or is it needed.
I love peaches so much, I look forward to the season all year but it’s just never long enough!
It was so great to see you last night Brenda! Thank you for saying hello! These bars look so great, I love almond as an addition to anything!
Ooh! These look so good! They remind me of my Aunt’s Cherry Squares! You have such great recipes!
These look absolutely delicious! I love all the almond in it.
I baked these last night with apricots because I had no peaches and it was WONDERFUL! my family loved it! Will definitely save this recipe and make it with all different fruits through the year! Thank you for sharing!
Yay!! So glad you liked this recipe!
There are no peaches where I live now, and it’s one of the things I miss most this time of year. I just love those sweet August peaches – I always make sure to get my fill before they disapear. These looks so pretty though, I may have to try them with mango, Brenda!
OOh, I love peaches and I love almond flavor, so I can only imagine these are amazingly delicious!!
Oh what perfectly gorgeous photos and that recipe sounds fabulous. my peaches are all over and I am waiting for the apples and pears that will be pouring in from the orchard in a few weeks. The gardens are full of county at this time of year. lovely pages, so glad I found you.. c
Thank you so much, Cecilia – nice to meet you!
I can’t wait to try these – my sister should be coming home from holidays with a flat of peaches for me next week and these are at the top of my baking list!
A flat of peaches, what a gift! Please let me know what you think of these bars!
I made 3 huge pans with minor variations, and these are amazing! I’m featuring my version on my blog on Saturday with credit to you for the inspiration – thank you!
I’m so glad you liked this recipe, Anna! :)
These look amazing, I absolutely love peaches…put them in a dessert and almost nothing can top it! I wonder, can you sub in canned or jarred peaches or peach filling when in a jam?
Hello Jenn – I think you’d be fine, but I have not experimented with it at all, to be able to tell you any kind of measurements. Please let know if you try it!
Thanks for. Reply! I may just have to try, and will definitely let you know!