My inner Southern bell wanted to make an appearance this week in the form of peach pie. Although peaches are great on their own this time of year, peach pie is a fantastic way to use them as well. They soften and sweeten even more, and when blanketed in buttery crust they become dreamy.
This recipe incorporates a crumble, and I am not sure if anyone can turn down a crumble, consisting of flour, butter, sugar, and some spice. Everything nice.
A lattice crust seems like it might be a tough task, but it’s actually not bad. You just weave the pie crust strips. Crimping the edges…that takes practice and I am not a professional by any means. Just try your best because once you start eating the pie, you’ll forget about what it looks like, whether your crimping is perfect or slightly imperfect.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat flour, plus more for rolling
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, very cold and in a 1/2″ dice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4 to 7 tablespoons water
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- pinch salt
- 6 to 8 large fresh peaches, pitted, peeled and sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 1 egg, whisked
- 1 tablespoon water
- course sugar for topping
How To:
For pie crust, place flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor and pulse to mix. Add butter and mix until mixture resembles coarse meal, with pea size granules of butter. Add ice water 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing until mixture begins to clump together. The dough will be ready if you pinch some and it holds together. If the dough doesn’t hold together, add a little more water and pulse again.
Remove dough from processor and place in a mound on your work surface. Slightly knead dough into 2 disks, but do not over knead. Wrap disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.
When ready to roll out dough, remove crusts from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes in order to soften. Roll out on a lightly floured surface (with a lightly floured rolling pin) to fit a 9″ pie plate, about 1/8″ thick. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For the filling, in a medium bowl, use a fork to combine flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter. Mix until crumbly.
Mix almond extract with peaches gently to coat. Spoom half of the peaches into the pie crust. Top with half of the crumbly sugar mixture. Layer more peaches and more crumble mixture. Top the pie with second pie crust by making a lattice top. Roll out pie dough and create slices with a pastry wheel or knife (you can also roll out dough as a double crust, cut four slits and skip the lattice). Weave slices on the top of the pie to create lattice and crimp edges to seal. To crimp edges, pinch thumb and index finger with index finger on opposite hand.
Combine the whisked egg and tablespoon water. Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with coarse or granulated sugar. Bake on the center rack in the oven for 40 minutes to 1 hour. Pie is done when crust is golden brown and peach pie filling is bubbling. Allow to cool slightly. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.
Growling Tummy 