Heyyy ya’lllllllll (I like to pretend to be southern when making, talking about, and/or eating peach pie. It’s the whole Georgia peach thing, I think). I’m weird.
Told you we’d have a peach pie recipe up on the blog before long. We made this pie in honor of the amazing local peaches that we have spilling out of the supermarkets and little farms in the area.
Plus, the Peach Festival is here! (UPDATE 8/12: Hear more about the biggest garage sale/mud wrestle ever in our Peach Festival post). It’s a giant church sale to raise money for charity, and all the church ladies spend days in advance preparing peach pies, cobblers, kuchen, whipped cream, and homemade vanilla ice cream. We donate our old stuff and go out to buy MORE old stuff (i.e. books at 50 cents each, kitchen stuff, art, board games, old jewelry, dvds, furniture, etc.).
Mid-way through our strategic trawl of old books and household bric-a-brac, I drag Kaitlin away from the old jewelry table, where she’s usually fighting off a bunch of elderly ladies for a butterfly pin or something, and we go have pie with whipped cream and extra peaches, often served up by our 8th grade English teacher. It’s pretty much the best thing ever.
This crust recipe is the same as the one that we used for the summer berry pie, so it’s really just the filling that’s different. Again, it’s adapted from America’s Test Kitchen, which is our go-to source for all things pie. The crust was a bit unwieldy this time around, probably because it was too warm again in our kitchen.
Just make sure that you cut the cold shortening and butter into the flour well enough so that you don’t have too-big big chunks of butter in the dough, which makes it difficult to roll. Okay, I’ll stop talking now. Here’s the peach pie recipe:
Recipe Instructions
Start by making the crust. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, and a teaspoon of salt. Add in the chilled shortening and cut it in with a pastry cutter or two butter knives.
I have a love-hate relationship with Crisco. I’m generally not a fan of any oil in the “hydrogenated” category, but I’ve also tried all-butter crusts, and have found that Crisco really does make for a lighter, flakier one. So…I will continue to harbor a paradoxical relationship with that little blue can until further notice.
Once that’s looking crumbly, cut the chilled butter into little cubes and add it to the flour. If the amount of butter in this bowl disturbs you, just avert your eyes and think of peach pie. That’s what I did.
Cut in the chilled butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. It should probably be a bit finer than what you see in this photo. Pie-baking transforms me from a sensible, mature adult to a bumbling, overexcited 8-year-old. In my pre-adolescent impatience, I didn’t cut the butter in enough, leaving me with some bigger chunks of butter in the dough that made rolling a little more challenging than it had to be. Work quickly to keep the ingredients cold.
Sprinkle 5-6 tablespoons of ice water into the mixture and stir it in until it forms a dough (if you’re in a dry climate, you may need a couple extra tablespoons).
Divide the dough into two pieces and slap each one on a piece of plastic wrap.
Flatten them into disks, wrap them up, and put them in the fridge for at least an hour.
So… peeling peaches is not at all as hard as it sounds. It’s actually really REALLY easy. Just bring a pot of water to a boil and put some cold water and ice in a large bowl to make an ice bath.
Cut an x in the bottom of each peach. They’re goooorgeoouss aren’t they?
Blanch the peaches in boiling water for 40-60 seconds (less time for really ripe peaches, more time for peaches that might be a little less ripe). Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and dunk into the ice bath.
Let them cool in the ice water for at least a minute, and the peel will come right off!
Shinnnyyyy! All ready to slice. To slice them, I just hold the peach and cut slices one at a time all around the pit with a paring knife. Each slice should pop right off the pit in the middle.
Once the dough is ready to roll, adjust an oven rack to the lowest position, place a rimmed baking sheet on the rack, and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Toss the pitted, sliced peaches with ¾-1 cup sugar (depending on how tart/sweet your peaches are. We used 3/4 cup), 3 tablespoons tapioca starch, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Take one of the dough disks out of the fridge and let it sit for a couple minutes to soften up a bit. Sprinkle some flour onto a clean surface, and roll the crust into a 12-inch circle. Spread it into the pie pan, pressing it gently into the sides. Check your fruit at this point. If it’s looking like the peaches released a lot of juice, stir in up to 2 more tablespoons of the tapioca starch.
Roll out the other dough disk into a 10 inch circle. Spread the peaches into the piecrust bottom and lay the top crust over the pie. Seal and crimp the edges and cut some vent holes in the top.
Lightly brush the pie with egg white. This will give the pie a pretty, shiny, golden-brown top.
Sprinkle the pie with the last teaspoon of sugar. This just gives the top a bit of texture. You can leave this step out if you want.
Place the pie on the heated baking sheet and lower the temperature to 425 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes. Then rotate the baking sheet, reduce the oven temperature again to 375 degrees, and bake for another 30-35 minutes, or until the juices are bubbling and the crust is a deep golden brown. Hellloooooo peach pie. Juicy, bubbly, peachy goodness.
Cool to room temperature before slicing and serving! I know it’s hard. If you don’t mind your pie filling not setting all the way, then feel free to dig in. But don’t say I didn’t warn ya!
Vanilla ice cream. Now. With this peach pie!
Peach Pie
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST:
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (plus extra for rolling)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons vegetable shortening (chilled)
- 1 ½ sticks butter (chilled and cut into ½ inch pieces)
- about 6 tablespoons ice water
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
- 2 ½ pounds peaches (6 to 8, peeled, pitted and sliced ½ inch thick; about 7 cups)
- 3/4-1 cup sugar (plus 1 teaspoon)
- 3-5 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg white beaten
Instructions
- Start by making the crust. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, and a teaspoon of salt. Add in the chilled shortening and cut it in with a pastry cutter or two butter knives. Once that’s looking crumbly, cut in the chilled butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Work quickly to keep the ingredients cold.
- Sprinkle 5-6 tablespoons of ice water into the mixture and stir it in until it forms a dough (if you’re in a dry climate, you may need a couple extra tablespoons). Divide the dough into two pieces and place each one on a piece of plastic wrap. Flatten them into disks, wrap them up, and put them in the fridge for at least an hour.
- To peel the peaches, bring a pot of water to a boil and prepare an ice bath. Cut an x in the bottom of each peach. Blanch the peaches in boiling water for 40-60 seconds (less time for really ripe peaches, more time for peaches that might be a little less ripe). Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and dunk into the ice bath. Let them cool in the ice water for at least a minute, and the peel will come right off!
- Once the dough is ready to roll, adjust an oven rack to the lowest position, place a rimmed baking sheet on the rack, and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Toss the pitted, sliced peaches with ¾-1 cup sugar (depending on how tart/sweet your peaches are), 3 tablespoons tapioca starch, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
- Take one of the dough disks out of the fridge and let it sit for a couple minutes. Sprinkle some flour onto a clean surface, and roll the crust into a 12-inch circle. Spread it into the pie pan. Check your fruit at this point. If it’s looking like the peaches released a lot of juice, stir in up to 2 more tablespoons of the tapioca starch.
- Roll out the other disk into a 10-inch circle. Spread the peaches into the piecrust bottom and lay the top crust over the pie. Seal and crimp the edges and cut six vent holes in the top. Lightly brush the pie with egg white and sprinkle with the last teaspoon of sugar.
- Place the pie on the heated baking sheet and lower the temperature to 425 degrees. Bake for 25 minutes. Then rotate the baking sheet, reduce the oven temperature again to 375 degrees, and bake for another 30-35 minutes, until the juices are bubbling and the crust is a deep golden brown. Cool to room temperature before slicing.