Late Summer Peach Pie: A Flaky Crust Filled with Juicy Peaches

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Indulge in the deliciousness of a late summer peach pie. Juicy peaches, flakey crust, and a hint of tartness make this dessert a winner.

Why Late Summer peaches?

Late summer peaches are one of my favorite fruits. The fruit is extra juicy and this pie just signals its time to enjoy all the stone fruits of summer.

I love buying the best peaches from the farmer’s market. This recipe uses a tender tartness enveloped in a flakey buttery crust . It 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. 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.

Ingredients for Late Summer Peach Pie:

fresh ingredients-

fresh peaches
lemon
fresh ginger
unsalted butter
egg
heavy cream

pantry ingredients-

sugar
sanding sugar
kosher salt
instant tapioca
cinnamon
vegetable shortening
flour
vodka

a bottle of vodka being used in a bowl of pie crust

How to make a delicious pie crust:

Make certain all your ingredients are cold
Use a food processor to make easy work of the dough
Grating the butter using the largest holes of a box grater and then freezing the shards of butter is a great way to keep it cold but easy to cut into the pastry
Ddd in the liquid slowly- depending on the humidity in your area- the dough will need more or less moisture.
If you do not have a food processor use a pastry cutter to cut the dough together
Chill the dough at least 30 minutes
A great tip to make it easy to roll the dough into the pie plate is to roll it our between two laters of parchment paper, peel off the top layer and then easily flip out the crust into the pie plate.
Always chill your pie dough before baking for best results and make certain your oven is at the correct temperature.

a small roll of pastry dough for a pie on a black stone counter

Commonly asked Questions and Tips:

Why do you use vodka in the crust?

As the alcohol evaporates it “lifts” the dough creating even more air and flakiness to your crust.

Can I use canned peaches?

Canned peaches are loaded with high fructose corn syrup or juices that will not set up well in this pie. Additionally, they become very gluey and jammy when baking. Frozen peaches are fine to use. Cut each slice in half so you have nice big chunks throughout the pie.

I am never lucky rolling out pie dough. Any tips?

A great way to roll out pie dough is to make certain everything is very cold and the rolling surface is lightly floured. Another great cheat is to roll out the dough between two pieces of parchment. Keep turning your dough with each pass of the rolling pin and press the edges together with your fingers if they start to split. Simply roll the dough off the parchment paper directly into the pie plate.

What is sanding sugar and where do I buy it?

Sanding sugar is coarse large crystal sugar that is used as a topping for desserts. You can find it at most craft stores in the baking aisle, Wal-mart or grocery stores in the baking sections. It is not always with the other sugars, but rather with items like vanilla and icing supplies. You can buy online HERE.

Why not slice the peaches instead of using chunks?

Slices of peaches tend to become jammy. The peaches retain their shapes much better if cut into chunks.

a blue pie plate filled with an unbaked peach pie

Equipment needed for this recipe:

ceramic or glass pie plate
rimmed baking sheet- prevents spills in your oven
parchment paper- line your baking sheet for easy clean up
food processor or a pastry cutter
large bowl
knife, measuring spoons and measuring cups
pastry brush
microplane for ginger and lemon
juicer or reamer for lemon juice

an unbaked peach pie with a lattice over the top in a blue ceramic pie plate

Even More Pie recipes to try:

a baked pie of peaches on a rimmed baking sheet

a slice of a very flaky piece f peach pie on a plate with a scoop of vanilla ice cream

Late Summer Peach Pie

Use the freshest peaches, chopped into chunks, for as sweet pie and an ultra flakey crust.

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: peach pie

Prep Time: 1 30

Cook Time: 1

Resting Time: 4

Total Time: 6 30

Servings: servings

Calories: 300kcal

Author: Meggen Wilson

Ingredients

For the Filling

3 lbs peaches , peeled, cut into chunks
⅔ cup sugar
½ cup instant tapioca
2 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp fresh ginger , minced
2 TBSP unsalted butter
1 large egg , beaten well
1 TBSP heavy cream
1 TBSP Sanding sugar

For the Crust-

2 ½ cup all purpose flour
1 tsp Kosher salt
6 TBSP butter , cold and cut into small cubes
⅔ cups vegetable shortening chilled
¼ cup ice water
¼ cup Vodka chilled

Instructions

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 using 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 rolling 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.
In a small bowl, beat the 1 large egg and heavy cream until well combined. Set aside.
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 crust with the large egg and heavy cream mixture (called an 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.

Video

https://www.pineandpalmkitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IMG_0305.mov

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.

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