Brown Sugar - Cinnamon Peach Pie

I'm still trying to make the most of the last of this summer's produce. And with a mission in my mind I set out to make something nice with what will probably be my last fresh peaches for this year. I had already made peach ice cream and peach jam, but had not really baked with peaches. Given my success with the blackberry rhubarb pie I decided to try a Peach Pie.

I found a wonderful recipe which to me feels like summer crossing over into fall. The perfect tribute to summer and a warm welcome to fall. A combo of two great flavors: peach and cinnamon. I never knew they worked so well together. But oh boy, do they work well together.

I'm really starting to get the hang of pies, so I can't wait to try out other flavors, but for now I'm just going to give you this recipe and hope you try it sometime, because it is well worth your time and energy.

Recipe

Brown Sugar - Cinnamon Peach Pie

Yield: 1 9-inch pie

Ingredients:

For the pie crust:

2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup, cold butter, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons sugar
4-6 tablespoons ice cold water

For the peach filling:
6-8 large fresh peaches
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons butter, cut into little pieces
1 egg, lightly beaten

Instructions:

Start by making the pie crust.

Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a foodprocessor fitted with a metal blade.

Add the butter and mix until the mixture looks like coarse sand.

Add the water with 2 tablespoons a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough holds together.

Divide the dough in two discs, making one larger than the other, and wrap them in plastic wrap.

Put the dough in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Roll out the biggest disc of dough and put it into a greased 9-inch pie pan.

Preheat the oven to 220˚C (425˚F).

Make the filling when you are ready to use it. You can't let it stand to long because then the peaches will give off too much liquid.

Peel the peaches, cut in half and take out the pit. Cut the halves into 1/2-inch thick slices and cut those slices in half.

Whisk together the flour, sugars, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Add the peaches and the lemon juice and stir until everything is well coated.

Pour the filling into the pie pan.

Put the pieces of butter on top of the filling.

Roll out the remaining dough and cut it into long strips.

Place the strips of dough onto the filling and weave them together.

Press the ends of the strips together with the edge of the pie crust. Fold back the overhanging dough and crimp the edges.

Brush the top with the egg, then sprinkle with the leftover 1 1/2 tablespoon sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

Put the pie into the freezer for 15 minutes.

Bake the pie for 15 minutes on 220˚C (425˚F), then reduce the temperature to 190˚C (375˚F) and bake for another 40 minutes.

Transfer the pie pan to a cooling rack and let cool.

Serve with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

 

Sources: pie crust adapted from Southern Pies, filling adapted from Pink Parsley