This humble pie filled with a juicy tart peach filling and flakey crust is my go to pie recipe when I want to impress.
Late summer peaches (or even frozen ) are my favorite fruit. The tender tartness enveloped in a flakey buttery crust is the perfect ending to those late September BBQ’s or football parties. You can make this pie the day before and it will be divine. Give yourself plenty of time- the filling needs a full 4 hours to set up when it comes out of the oven.
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Why vodka in the pie crust ? As the alcohol evaporates it “lifts” the dough creating even more air and flakiness to your crust.
The best part of baking a pie is that even though the crust may look a mess before baking, a little egg wash and sanding sugar can transform the mess into something sublime.
Late Summer Peach Pie
Course: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium8
servings1
hour55
minutes1
hour300
kcal4 hours
Use the freshest peaches, chopped into chunks, for as sweet pie and an ultra flakey crust.
Ingredients
- For the Filling
3 lb fresh peaches, peeled, cut into chunks
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup instant tapioca
juice of 1/2 lemon- about 1-2 TBSP
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
2 TBSP unsalted butter
egg wash- one egg , beaten well plus 1 TBSP heavy cream
Sanding sugar
- For the Crust-
2 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp Kosher salt
6 TBSP butter, cold and cut into small cubes
2/3 cups chilled shortening
1/4 cup ice water
1/4 cup Vodka
Directions
- Prepare the pie crust recipe- In the bowl of a food processor, combine the salt and flour. Pulse three times. Cut in the butter and shortening in small pulses until the mixture is crumbly. Slowly add in the ice water. Then pulse in the vodka. Do not over-mix.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Work the dough with clean cold hands until it comes together. With a bench scraper divide the dough into two equal parts. Press each half into a round 1″ thick disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. - Peel the peaches and cut into 1-2 inch chunks. If you slice the peaches, the filling becomes very “jammy” Chunks hold their shape much better. In a large bowl add the sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger and tapioca to the peaches. Chill the peach mixture while you prepare the pie plate with the dough.
- Pre heat the oven to 425 degrees.
- On a floured surface, roll out one of the discs of the chilled dough into a 12 inch circle. Rotate the dough frequently adding more flour to the surface if necessary. Using a rolling pin, roll up the dough loosely then unroll the dough into a 8″ pie plate. Tuck the excess dough under and then crimp using your thumb and middle finger. Pour the filling into the dough. Dot with the 2 TBSP of butter. Chill the pie in the fridge while you prepare the lattice.
- Roll out the second disc of dough. With a pizza cutter or long sharp knife, cut the dough into 6- 2″ strips. Alternating the strips, place three across the pie about then weave the remaining strips over and under to form your lattice. Once you have topped the pie with the lattice, brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
- Place the pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper for catching drips. Bake the pie at 425 degrees for 45-50. If the edges begin to brown too much, cover them lightly with strips of foil.
- Let pie rest for 4 hours before slicing. The pie will be too soupy if you do not let it “set up” for several hours.
Recipe Video
Notes
- The most important thing when baking a pie is chill, chill, chill. If the crust is sticking, chill. (or add a dusting of flour) . Chill the dough after filling the pie. You want everything as cold as possible before it goes into the hot oven.
- Store the baked pie leftovers (if there are any) covered with foil, in the fridge up to 5 days. Heat at 325 degrees, covered for 20-30 minutes to re-heat.
- You can freeze the dough up to 3 months. Wrap in a double layer of plastic. Thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling.
- You can use unsweetened frozen peaches. Cut the peach slices in half to prevent the pie from getting too “jammy”.
- I always bake on a lined baking sheet- this way there are no spills in your oven and you can easily move the pie without damaging the fragile crust.
Even More Pie recipes to try:
- Bourbon Pecan Pie
- Rustic Peach and Rhubarb Pie
- Double Apple Pie with Buttery Crust
- Calamondin Pie with Coconut Crust
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