The Perfect Peach Pie

Any series of posts on Andy’s favorite desserts would not be complete without his very favorite – peach pie. I first made this slice of heaven on a plate for a 4^th of July cookout the first summer we were married. My rookie attempt at making pie hit a home run. The crust was deliciously golden and flaky, providing the perfect balance to the sweet, warm, vanilla scented peach filling.

Upon his first bite, Andy declared this pie his very favorite meal of all time and his meal of choice should he ever find himself on death row. My husband is known for being rather dramatic, but I have to say he was probably right about this one.

Basic Pie Dough

12.5 oz (2 ½ cups) unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2 Tbsp sugar

½ cup shortening, chilled

12 Tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

6-8 Tbsp ice water

1)   Process the flour, salt and sugar in a food processor until combined.

2)   Add the shortening and process until the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds.

3)    Scatter the butter into the flour and process in about ten 1 second pulses until butter bits are no bigger than small peas.

4)    Turn the mixture into a medium bowl.

5)    Sprinkle 6 Tbsp of ice water over the mixture.

6)    Use a folding motion to mix the dough, adding 2 additional Tbsp ice water if the dough will not come together.

7)    Divide dough into two balls and flatten into 4 inch disks.

8)    Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to two days.

Peach Pie

1 recipe basic pie dough

4-5 large peaches

2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

Lemon juice

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 tsp cornstarch

1 egg white

Granulated sugar for sprinkling

1)     Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2)     Roll one disk of pie dough out and line bottom of 9 inch pie dish. Place in refrigerator.

3)     Peel and slice peaches into thin slices, placing slices in a large bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice as needed to prevent browning.

4)     Add brown sugar, vanilla and cornstarch to sliced peaches and stir to combine.

5)     Remove pie plate from fridge and brush bottom with egg white.

6)     Transfer peach mixture to pie plate, smoothing peaches down to even out the top.

7)     Roll out second disk of pie dough, cutting out lengths of dough for lattice topping. See tutorial here.

8)     Brush top of lattice with remaining egg whites and sprinkle with granulated sugar.

9)     Put pie plate on rack in the middle of the oven with a baking sheet on a lower rack to catch any drips.

10)  Bake for 15 minutes, then tent top with foil and reduce heat to 375 minutes.

11)  Continue baking until golden and juices are bubbling, about 50-60 minutes.

12)  Remove from oven and let pie cool completely on wire rack before serving.

Recipe from Good Things Catered, a blog that I greatly miss reading.