Peach Pie

Last week at the farmer’s market, I noticed some gorgeous baskets of peaches that I just couldn’t pass by. I knew the moment I laid eyes on them that they would be made into a pie. Don’t you love when a trip to the market is so inspiring?

Fruit pies with ice creams are really simple desserts that are perfect for simmer days. I think pies are so simple to make, don’t you? If you have a food processor, the crust can be made in a matter of minutes. It’s so convenient to make the pie crust ahead of time, even a few days ahead, or roll it out and freeze it, and then just mix up the fruit, pour it into the crust and bake. A slice of warm pie with a scoop of ice cream – need I say more?

Pie dough:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar

14 Tablespoons butter, frozen and cubed

1 egg, whisked with 2 Tablespoons water

4-6 Tablespoons water

Filling:

6-7 peaches, about 6 1/3-6 1/2 cups sliced peaches

1/2 cup sugar

1-2 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoon vanilla

2 Tablespoons instant Tapioca pudding or 3 Tablespoons cornstarch.

Egg wash, water, milk, heavy cream to brush on top of the pie

Sugar, to sprinkle on top of the pie

Start by making the pie crust.

You can use store-bought pie crust or use your own favorite pie crust recipe. 

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cubed frozen butter and pulse about 10 times, until it looks like wet sand with little pea-sized bits of butter.

Add the whisked egg with the 2 Tablespoons of water. Pulse to combine. Add more water, a Tablespoon at a time. When you pinch it between your fingers, it should not fall apart. I usually add about 6  Tablespoon more of water. Dump it out onto the counter, or I place it right onto the sheet of parchment the I’ll be wrapping it in. No need to mess up the counter if I don’t have to. Less cleaning is always a good thing. Knead the dough just until it comes together. Divide the dough in half and wrap each in parchment paper, aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

You can definitely make your pie dough ahead of time. It’s very convenient to have it on hand.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the peach filling, peel and slice the peaches. Check out this post about how to easily peel your peaches. You should have about 6 1/3-6 1/2 cups of peeled and sliced peaches.

Use a coffee grinder to grind the tapioca pudding. Using a food processor won’t work. If you don’t have a coffee grinder (which is a cool and cheap tool to have on hand for things like grinding up spices, poppy seeds, etc), use cornstarch.

Mix all the ingredients for the peach filling in a bowl and set aside while you’re rolling out the crust.

Meanwhile, roll out each half of pie dough on a well-floured surface. (It helps to take out the chilled dough and let it rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes, before rolling it out, so it softens just a bit).

Place the rolled out pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate, snip off the ragged edges, leaving about an inch hanging off the sides of the pie plate.

Spoon the pie filling into the pie crust. Cut the other pie crust into 3/4 – 1 inch strips. Place the strips of dough on top of the pie, creating a basket weave/lattice look, by folding back every other strip and laying one strip on top of the strip and the next one underneath. Repeat with all the strips, evenly spacing the strips. Snip off the excess dough from the edges of the pie, fold the dough under, pinching the bottom crust and the strips together, and crimp the edges of the pie dough. Brush the top of the pie crust with milk, cream, water or an egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.

Place the pie plate on top of a rimmed baking sheet, in case the filling bubbles over, it won’t burn on the bottom of the oven. 

Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, decrease the temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for another 25 minutes. Cool the pie slightly, so it will be easier to cut and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.