This peach crisp, sweet yet dairy-free, came about because of a streak of bad luck, and the New Jersey peaches which went from underripe and hard to nectar-sweet and juicy in 24 hours, were the silver lining to the car trouble that destroyed my should-have-been-straightforward journey back from Big Summer Potluck #4 ^[1] last weekend.

Here’s how the roller coaster sped along:

Happy: driving through beautiful Bucks County and talking blogs, food, and creativity with Amy ^[2], Autumn ^[3], Brian ^[4], Dennis ^[5], Gina ^[6], Jeni ^[7], Joe ^[8], Karen ^[9], Kelly ^[10], Maggie ^[11], Winnie ^[12] and many others.

Sad: a rental car that petered out and died with no warning in the middle of a windy road in Pennsylvania and a rental car company with not a trace of customer service prowess.

Happy: a drive back on Sunday morning, when the farmstands were open, instead of Saturday night, when the farmstands would have been closed.

As if the Jersey-fresh produce weren’t fragrant and inexpensive enough, I made a second cheer-up stop on my way home: Red Hook Fairway, where I stocked my pantry as if a storm were on its way.

The next day, when the horror of the broken-down Jetta had faded, I made a plate of peach crisp, using oil instead of butter so that Alex could enjoy. This is the simplest crisp I’ve ever made: no cinnamon, no walnuts, no oats ^[13]. (The two egg yolks in the ingredient list are what hold this this together.) With the failure of my power steering behind us, Alex and I ate the warm crisp, me with whipped cream on top, him without.

Happy: fruit so good it doesn’t need butter in the topping to be a rejuvenating dessert.

For kosher and lactose-free dessert lovers, this one’s for you. Enjoy!

P.S. The best dairy-free desserts ^[14].

**Recipe**

Dairy-Free Peach Crisp
Serves 4

This recipe is extremely flexible! Once you’ve mastered it with one kind of fruit, you can always try it with another. If you’re keeping calories under control, you can halve the topping amounts and this will still taste great.

Ingredients
For the fruit
About 6 cups of sliced peaches, from 6 to 7 ripe peaches
¼ cup sugar

For the topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 pinches of salt
1/4 cup plus 1-2 tablespoons neutral oil
2 egg yolks

Preheat the oven to 450°F.

In a 9-inch round baking dish (I use a deep-dish pie platter; feel free to improvise) that just fits the fruit, combine the fruit and sugar and toss together.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and 2 tablespoons oil using a spatula, ‘til they form large crumbs. Add the egg yolk and work into the dough. Add some or all of the remaining oil to bring the dough together. Crumble on top of the fruit.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly and the topping is golden brown. If the crisp seems like it’ll bubble over, place a sheet of foil on the rack beneath the dessert to catch any drippings. Serve hot or warm, with dairy-free ice cream or sorbet.