My Famous Peach Pie Recipe
My Famous Peach Pie Recipe
It’s peach season, and I am so excited. My kids refer to peaches and Nature’s Candy. I’m sure they heard that somewhere and latched onto the title, but I love it. If I could pick only one fruit for the whole summer, it would be peaches.
I typically do three things with my peaches: canning, freezing, and making pies (aside from eating them fresh and maybe baking with them, lol)
This peach pie has become a staple in our house. Everyone loves it, but besides that, I typically freeze anywhere from 8 to 10 unbaked pies every year to eat later in the year, like during the depressing days of February. It’s amazing. My favorite is to pull it out in the middle of winter when we have company over. I’m telling you, peach pie in the middle of winter is like a mini vacation to Florida. HA! At least we can pretend or try to remember summer when we eat it.
So good!
Ok, let’s get into it.
I will go through each step and provide you with my notes. I have been making this pie for years, and I have a few tips and tricks up my sleeve.
One quick note: I tend to buy the deep dish pie crusts from the freezer section of the store, especially when I am freezing a bunch of pies. It saves me time, and honestly, I haven’t noticed that it affects the taste at all. I use my homemade crust for the top, and it’s delicious and easy. It also makes it really easy to freeze because I can just pop these right into the freezer in the foil pan.
Ingredients:
CRUST:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
6 tablespoons cold butter, cubed or grated
3/4 cup vegetable shortening or lard
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup ice water
PEACH FILLING:
Around 6 cups of peaches, peeled and pitted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup flour (plus extra if you are freezing pies)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tablespoon butter, cut into really small pieces
1 tablespoon half-and-half or heavy cream
Optional: Coarse sugar and cinnamon for the top crust
HOW TO:
MAKE THE CRUST:
In a food processor or a bowl with a pastry blender ( or two forks), add the flour and salt and mix together. Add the butter and shortening or lard. Lard is the best if you can get your hands on it, but shortening works well. If you don’t like any of those options, you can use all butter. When I use the food processor, I do three-second increments and stop as soon as it resembles crumbles, kinda like sand. If I’m using a pastry blender or forks, keep pressing and cutting until it resembles sand. Another method is to grate your cold butter on a cheese grater and then cut it into the flour. This is a great way and way easier on your hands. Dump the mixture into a bowl.
Slowly drizzle in the ice water. Start with a 1/4 cup and slowly mix in more. The amount of water I need varies depending on factors like flour and humidity. As the dough starts to come together, it might be easier to get in there with your hands and stir. You can even dump it onto a greased or floured counter and mix it that way. I learned that the dough is better when it’s drier than you think. It should stay together but not be sticky. When I pull it apart, you can see the layers, but it should still roll out without crumbling apart. But don’t worry, I’ve used the dough at all kinds of stages, and it turns out just fine.
Divide the dough in half, and pat each half into a nice little circle. Wrap each circle in plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour.
MAKE THE FILLING
While my crust is chillin in the fridge, I start making my filling.
PEELING, PITTING, AND SLICING THE PEACHES
Peeling and pitting the peaches: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill another bowl with ice water. I can usually fit 5 or 6 peaches at a time, and place them in the boiling water for around 10 seconds. This helps remove the skin and makes peeling super easy.
Remove from the boiling water and drop into your ice bath. We want those peaches to stop cooking; leave them there for several minutes, or until cool. When I am batch-making pies, I fill my sink with ice water and do a lot of peaches at once. They can float around in the ice water for quite a while.
Peeling should be super easy; the skins should slide right off. Then I cut the peach in half and rip out the pit.
Once the pit is removed, slice that yummy little globe into thin slices. I flip it on its middle and just start slicing down the back. I’d say I can get 4 or 5 slices per half, but it’s going to depend on the size of your peach.
MIXING THE FILLING:
Mix your cut peaches with lemon juice and vanilla in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix your flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Pour over your peaches and mix together.
NOTE: If you are freezing your pies, add a couple of extra tablespoons of flour. Maybe even 1/4 cup. This will help with the extra liquid that the peaches release once they thaw. We don’t want runny pies.
If you are using the deep-dish pie crusts, dump your peaches into the crust. Don’t be afraid to mound it up a little. The peaches cook down. Add your little cut-up pieces of butter and sprinkle them all over the top.
ROLL OUT THE DOUGH
Flour your counter or pastry mat if you have one.
Grab one of your chilled balls; keep the rest in the fridge.
Gently start rolling. I am no professional when it comes to rolling, but I just keep turning the dough until I can’t anymore, and then I keep rolling. You want your dough to be bigger than your pan by several inches.
If you are using this as a bottom crust, place it in the pan gently. My favorite way to get the crust in the pan is to pick up the pastry mat and flip it upside down over the pan. You can do this with wax paper, too. Add your filling.
Do the same thing with the top crust.
With a sharp knife, or you can do it like me and just rip it with your hands, trim the extra crust that’s hanging over to just below the rim. I like thick crusts on my pies, so I leave about an inch. I pinch the bottom and top crust together and roll them up onto the edge of the pie. You can get fancy here and crimp the edges, or you can just leave it. Just make sure it’s pressed together on the edge.
FINISHING TOUCHES
Take a sharp knife and cut several slits in the top of your pie crust. These are little vents that let out steam, and these are crucial for baking time.
Lightly brush the top of the crust with a mixture of half/half or heavy cream.
Sprinkle liberally, more than you think, the coarse sugar on top and add a sprinkling of cinnamon.
BAKING:
Lower your oven rack to the bottom third position.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
I always cook my pies on a foil-lined baking sheet; otherwise, we end up with a smoky mess.
Bake at 450 for 20 min.
After 20 minutes, lower your oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake for another 40 to 50 minutes. Really, the time isn’t what you are looking for. You are looking for a nice golden crust. We want the center of the crust to be golden and flaky-looking. You may have to cover the edges of your pie to keep them from getting to brown. I cut little pieces of foil and wrap them around the edge to prevent that. We are also looking for the filling to start bubbling up those nice slits we cut into the crust. This is crucial; don’t be tempted to take it out until you see that bubbling.
Remove your pie from the oven, and let it rest and cool for at least one hour. We need to let that filling set up.
FREEZING YOUR PIE BEFORE BAKING
Place your pies on a baking sheet and flash freeze.
Once frozen, place in bags. 2-gallon bags work great here. I vacuum seal mine.
Label and store.
To bake your frozen pie: follow the baking directions above, but plan extra baking time. You can thaw your pie first in the fridge or bake it from frozen. It’s less about the time and more about how your pie looks.
That’s it. You are now on your way to making the best peach pie ever. My mouth is watering. Let me know if you have any questions if you made the pie in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
P.S. - Recipe is adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction Sweet Peach Pie Recipe
