Tree-ripened, juice-running-to-your-elbows peaches are another favorite summertime pleasure of mine. I enjoy them in my cereal, smoothies, yogurt, or with a crust around them, among many other ways. Below is a recipe for peach pie...perfect for your summer get-togethers!
For the Filling
Ingredients:
- ~5 cups of fresh peaches (washed, peeled, and sliced)
- 1/8 c sugar (more if your peaches are not quite-so-sweet)
- 1/8 c brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- ~4 tsp cornstarch (a little more if your peaches are super-juicy)
Directions:
- Combine the peaches, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large saucepan. In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the lemon juice and add to the mixture in the saucepan. Heat over low-medium heat for about 10 minutes (or until a gentle boil is reached), stirring with a rubber spatula occasionally. Remove from heat and pour into a pie dish lined with the bottom crust. Note: If planning to make a lattice top crust, you may want to allow the filling to cool for about 20-30 minutes before adding to the pie dish so that you can handle it accordingly. If you are not sure how to make a lattice-top, I found this tutorial helpful when first learning this skill.
- Add the top the crust. If using a flat top-crust, be sure to add ~4 vent slits. Seal and crimp (or flute) edges as desired.
- Bake in a 400F pre-heated oven for about 45-50 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden. Note: I like to place a baking dish on the rack below, in order to catch any spills that may occur.
For the Crust: (Yield: 2 crusts)
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 c flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- ~8-10 TBSP COLD water (I put a the water in the freezer for 15 minutes or so)
- 14 TBSP butter (grated and well-chilled)
Directions:
- In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add in the grated, cold butter and mix either with your hand or a fork until well blended (this can take a few minutes to achieve).
- Slowly add in the water and mix until you are able to form a disc. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Roll out on a lightly floured surface. Place in pie pan and chill again for another 30 minutes.
- Notes: I typically make this pie crust in my Kitchen-Aid mixer (following the steps as outlined above). Because this crust freezes well, I find it incredibly helpful to make multiple batches at one time and freeze what I do not need at the time--simply roll out the dough to the desired size and then roll it up and place the rolled-up dough in freezer paper. I then put the freezer paper rolls in a freezer bag or in foil. When you need a pie crust or two, simply pull them out of the freezer, thaw, and unroll (it takes ~60 minutes at room temperature or put them in the refrigerator the night before).