Peach Pie

Yay for Jersey peaches! Whoooooooo. One of my top five favorite foods is a July Jersey peach. Wowsa.

At certain stands you can get whole bushels of these gems for just 5 bucks! It’s almost like stealing, and I can honestly say this purchase makes me more excited than a great TJ Max find (though that’s pretty incredible too).

Let’s talk crust. A lot of people want to skip the seemingly difficult step that is homemade crust, but I urge you to NOT SKIP IT. When I come across a table of baked goods at a party or whatnot, I always take the pie from the obviously homemade crust, as it’s ALWAYS better, even if it’s not pretty.

Now my mom makes a great pie, anchored by a fantastic crust. When I learned about crusts I realized that most recipes called for butter or shortening as the fat. I couldn’t even FIND a recipe for an oil crust. So in my entitled-new-cook ways, I said “Mom, we need to try these other crusts”. It has taken me a few years of trying, but I finally realized that my mom has something seriously amazing there with her oil crust. I am now, officially, team oil crust. Trust me, not only does it taste amazing but it’s SO MUCH easier to deal with. If you don’t make crust because you’ve tried and it was too difficult, do me the honor of trying this before you quit altogether.

Making a homemade pie in general is one of the most satisfying things to do in the kitchen.

Peach Pie

Double Crust:

2 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

5 tbsp. cold water

1/2 c. vegetable (or canola) oil

*Waxed paper

Pie:

2 1/2 lb. peaches (about 8)

1/2 c. sugar

3 tbsp. flour

pinch salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

3 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tbsp. butter (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Bring a large pot filled halfway with water to boil.

3. Whisk flour and salt in a medium bowl.

4. Mix oil and water in a liquid measuring cup. Be careful to measure JUST a 1/2 c. oil. If you go over even a LITTLE bit your crust will be too oily to work with.

5. Add oil/water mixture to flour mixture slowly while mixing in with a fork.

6. Once the mixture has come together, divide into two equal halves.

7. Place each half, pressed into a round, onto a sheet of waxed paper. Anchor paper with some water or oil on the counter. It won’t slip around on you.

8. Place another piece of waxed paper on top and roll out into a round about 4 inches larger in diameter than your pie plate.

9. Take both rounds and place in the fridge.

10. Make an “x” onto the butt of each peach (opposite the stem end).

11. Take a large bowl and fill with ice water. Place next to the pot.

12. Once water is boiling, drop peaches in and wait about 45 seconds.

13. Turn off heat and scoop out each peach with a slotted spoon, dropping in the ice water.

14. Bring ice water to sink and peel each peach. We blanched these peaches. This is the best way to quickly and easily peel peaches and tomatoes. See how easy?

15. Slice peach into 1/2 in. slices and place in a large bowl.

16. In a small bowl, mix flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture on top of peaches and stir until uniformly covered.

17. Either squeeze juice from one lemon or measure out 3 tbsp. (should be about the same amount) and toss with peaches. Let peaches sit about fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.

18. While peaches sit, take one crust from the fridge. Peel the waxed paper off and place crust down in the pie plate. Arrange evenly, then peel the back off.

19. Make sure crust rests flat around the bottom and sides. Extra can overhang for now.

20. Scoop peaches out of bowl with slotted spoon and place in bottom crust.

21. If desired, cut 2 tbsp. butter into small pieces and place on top of peaches.

22. Take top crust and proceed as you did with the bottom, covering the top evenly.

23. Tuck and roll crust edges, then flute (which means form a decorative edge on a pie crust) as you like.

24. Vent top of crust with a window (like I did) or place holes in the top with a fork (maybe a “P” for peach pie?).

25. Brush top of crust with milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar.

26. Bake for 30 minutes on the lowest rack of the oven. If at any point one part of the top crust seems to be browning too quickly, cover with foil.

27. After 30 minutes, reduce heat to 400 and continue to bake another 25-30 minutes.

28. Pie is done with the crust is deep golden brown and juices are bubbling. Can you see those bubbles?

29. Let cool, be very proud of yourself, and serve! A la mode (or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream) is best.

(There were 6 of us and 8 slices of pie. This demolished plate is the sign of a good pie).

*Now there are a lot of steps to this, but honestly, this whole thing took me probably 45 minutes to put together. It’s not hard, you can do it.

Peach Pie

Double Crust:

2 c. flour

1 1/2 tsp. salt

5 tbsp. cold water

1/2 c. vegetable (or canola) oil

*Waxed paper

Pie:

2 1/2 lb. peaches (about 8)

1/2 c. sugar

3 tbsp. flour

pinch salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

3 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tbsp. butter (optional)

1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Bring a large pot filled halfway with water to boil.

3. Whisk flour and salt in a medium bowl.

4. Mix oil and water in a liquid measuring cup. Be careful to measure JUST a 1/2 c. oil. If you go over even a LITTLE bit your crust will be too oily to work with.

5. Add oil/water mixture to flour mixture slowly while mixing in with a fork.

6. Once the mixture has come together, divide into two equal halves.

7. Place each half, pressed into a round, onto a sheet of waxed paper.

8. Place another piece of waxed paper on top and roll out into a round about 4 inches larger in diameter than your pie plate.

9. Take both rounds and place in the fridge.

10. Make an “x” onto the butt of each peach (opposite the stem end).

11. Take a large bowl and fill with ice water. Place next to the pot.

12. Once water is boiling, drop peaches in and wait about 45 seconds.

13. Turn off heat and scoop out each peach with a slotted spoon, dropping in the ice water.

14. Bring ice water to sink and peel each peach.

15. Slice peach into 1/2 in. slices and place in a large bowl.

16. In a small bowl, mix flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle mixture on top of peaches and stir until uniformly covered.

17. Either squeeze juice from one lemon or measure out 3 tbsp. (should be about the same amount) and toss with peaches. Let peaches sit about fifteen minutes, stirring occasionally.

18. While peaches sit, take one crust from the fridge. Peel the waxed paper off and place crust down in the pie plate. Arrange evenly, then peel the back off.

19. Make sure crust rests flat around the bottom and sides. Extra can overhang for now.

20. Scoop peaches out of bowl with slotted spoon and place in bottom crust.

21. If desired, cut 2 tbsp. butter into small pieces and place on top of peaches.

22. Take top crust and proceed as you did with the bottom, covering the top evenly.

23. Tuck and roll crust edges, then flute (which means form a decorative edge on a pie crust) as you like.

24. Vent top of crust with a window (like I did) or place holes in the top with a fork (maybe a “P” for peach pie?).

25. Brush top of crust with milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar.

26. Bake for 30 minutes on the lowest rack of the oven. If at any point one part of the top crust seems to be browning too quickly, cover with foil.

27. After 30 minutes, reduce heat to 400 and continue to bake another 25-30 minutes.

28. Pie is done with the crust is deep golden brown and juices are bubbling.

29. Let cool, be very proud of yourself, and serve! A la mode (or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream) is best.