Peach Shortbread Bars

When I'm stressed or bored I really like to bake. Something about the warm oven and focusing on something else for a while {in this case, slicing peaches and browning butter} helps me to relax and reimagine my life as something that's really, really good.

And so yesterday, when I was at my Maximum Stress Threshold, I started to brown a cup of butter over the stove. I picked peaches and breathed in their summery smell. And I dove into yet another amazing recipe from Smitten Kitchen.

 What she doesn't mention -- or at least something that was true for me -- is that these are a lot better the next day. For breakfast. Or lunch. Or, you know where this is going...any time. They're better when they're cool than when they're piping hot. At least that's what I thought.

Peach Shortbread Bars

Here's What You Need:

1 Cup Butter
1 Cup Sugar
2 3/4 C All-Purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1 Large Egg
2 Sliced Peaches

Here's What You Do:

First off, if you have time, brown the butter. Put it in a pot and stir it until it boils, gets clear, and then browns. Careful not to burn it too much. Then pop the butter into a container (I used tupperware just fine, but if you have a glass dish or pyrex measuring cup, that might be better -- don't want anything to melt...) and then put the butter in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 350, or thereabouts. Grease up your 9x13 pan.

Then get out a medium-large bowl and mix up the Sugar, Flour, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Salt. Use a pastry cutter to blend in the (now cool) butter and the egg. The mixture will be crumbly

Press 3/4 of the mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Arrange peach slices over the top. Then top with the rest of the crumbly mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes. If you need to eat it hot, pop a scoop of vanilla ice cream on there. Or wait for it to cool and for the peachy flavors to sweeten up. You'll love it.

k.