Peach Pie
You had to know this was coming. How could I peel, slice, and freeze all of those peaches without making a pie? And I don’t even like peach pie! But when I think of a quintissential summer dessert, peach pie is what I think of. Bright, summery, fresh and perfectly sweet. Plus making pies is fun!
This pie is almost as simple as the blueberry pie I made a few weeks ago. The hardest part is peeling and slicing the peaches. I used my new favorite all-butter crust, which produces a delicious flaky crust (and better yet, can be made in your stand mixer). I had such great luck with my last Williams Sonoma pie, so I went ahead and used their recipe for the peach filling for this pie. That turned out to be a great idea, because the flavor is perfect! I mentioned that I don’t like peach pie, but it has nothing to do with the taste (which I love). It’s a texture thing – I’m just not a fan of cooked peaches. I still managed to eat a piece of this one though, just for testing purposes 🙂 Plus I ate enough of the peaches before I baked it that I was worried about my pie not being full enough! Mike loved this pie and rated it a 4. I think it’s safe to say that he’s totally on board with my new found love of baking pies.
Peach Pie
Ingredients:
2 rolled-out rounds of basic pie dough
6 cups peeled, pitted and sliced peaches (see this post for instructions)
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
2 Tbs. unsalted butter
Directions:
Fold 1 dough round in half and carefully transfer to a 9-inch pie dish. Unfold and ease the round into the pan, without stretching it, and pat it firmly into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Using kitchen scissors, trim the edge of the dough, leaving 3/4 inch of overhang. Set the dough-lined pan aside, along with the other dough round, in a cool place until ready to use.
To make the filling, place the peaches in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and toss to coat well. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt and nutmeg. Add to the peaches and toss to combine. Pile the fruit mixture into the pastry-lined pan and dot with bits of the butter.
Fold the reserved dough round in half and carefully position it over half of the filled pie. Unfold and trim the edge neatly, leaving 1 inch of overhang, then fold the edge of the top round under the edge of the bottom round and crimp the edges to seal. Using a small, sharp knife, cut an asterisk 4 to 5 inches across in the center of the top to allow steam to escape during baking.
Alternately, to create a lattice top, roll out the pastry for the top crust and cut it into strips about 3/4 inch wide. Use the longer strips across the center of the pie, and the shorter strips near the edge and weave the strips on top of the pie, starting in the center and working toward the edges.
Bake at 425°F for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake until the juices are bubbling and the top is browned, about 25 minutes more. Let cool before serving.
from Williams Sonoma