Peach Cobbler Smoothie With Brown Sugar Crumble Recipe

The only thing better than coming home from the farmer's market with a bag full of fresh peaches is the warm, gooey cobbler that ends up on the table the following day. The perfect summer dessert, peach cobbler is sweet, juicy, and warm, with a crumbly topping that adds a sugary crunch to the tender peaches. This smoothie recipe written with developer Michelle McGlinn turns this favorite summer dessert into a cold and refreshing smoothie topped with a crunchy brown sugar crumble. 

A more nutritious version of the classic dessert, this smoothie is filled with banana, peaches, yogurt, milk, and dates for a naturally sweetened, creamy, fresh treat you can enjoy any time of day, from breakfast in the morning to dessert in the evening. The crumble topping contains oats, making it a suitable (though sugary) breakfast food as it serves to replicate granola and sweetens the peachy puree. Next time you're craving peach cobbler for breakfast (this happens to all of us, right?), turn to this smoothie for a creamy and refreshing option instead.

If you've ever made either granola or streusel before, the crumble ingredients should be familiar to you. You'll need flour, brown sugar, old-fashioned oats, salt, cinnamon, and butter. From there, the ingredient list looks a lot more nutritious: You'll need a frozen banana, frozen peaches, Greek yogurt, pitted Medjool dates, milk, and vanilla.

Combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.

Add the butter to the dry ingredients and combine until moist.

Add the mixture back to the skillet and gently stir the crumble until browned, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Remove the topping from the heat and let it cool and harden for about 10 minutes.

To make the smoothie, combine the frozen peaches, banana, yogurt, dates, milk, and vanilla extract in a blender.

Blend until smooth.

To serve, pour the smoothie mixture into glasses and top with the brown sugar crumble.

This smoothie is naturally sweetened using Medjool dates, which blend into the peaches and offer a sweetness similar to brown sugar or caramel. Unlike pure sugar, dates offer vitamins, nutrients, and most importantly fiber, which means that this smoothie will make you feel fuller for longer. Dates are worth the small investment because not only are they good sweeteners for smoothies and baked goods, but they are also delicious on their own as snacks and they make a great addition to many appetizer recipes. 

If Medjool dates aren't a priority on your shopping list, though, there are plenty of ways to make sure your smoothie tastes almost as sweet as a real cobbler. First, make sure your peaches are ripe for maximum natural sweetness. If you are using fresh peaches from the store or farmer's market, choose peaches that are slightly soft and that have some give when squeezed, or wait for them to ripen before you freeze them for the smoothie. From there, if you want additional sweetness you can add maple syrup, honey, or agave to sweeten the smoothie naturally, or use simple syrup for a sweet and easy boost.

This brown sugar crumble is not your average streusel: Instead of being crumbled onto a dessert and cooked in the oven, it is crisped in a skillet and left to harden like granola. Because it has a similar texture to granola, it works well piled on top of a bowl of oatmeal and yogurt and makes a delicious topping for fruit and yogurt parfaits. 

You can also use this crumble topping in a variety of desserts. Try sprinkling it onto ice cream — it would work well with flavors such as vanilla bean, chocolate tahini, pecan, or peach sorbet. Though the mixture is technically cooked, you can also use it in baked goods as a streusel topping. To do this, bake the dessert first, and about 5 to 10 minutes before the end of cooking time, add the crumble and bake. The butter will re-melt into your dessert, making a warm and gooey topping. The extra crumble on its own can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.