Before I talk about today’s pie, we need to have a chat. If you read my first pie post of the month within a couple days of it being posted, you probably noticed that it said something like “I’m going to make a pie every day until Thanksgiving! Hooray!” Well, if you look at it now, it says something completely different. Now it’s more like, “I’m going to make 3 pies a week until Thanksgiving! Hooray!” You see, sometimes I don’t think things through. Sometimes, I get what I think is a great idea and I start climbing up the high dive ladder without thinking about what it is going to take to jump. It’s not that I couldn’t make a pie everyday, because I think I probably could with some planning. The problem was one I didn’t really think about. After making a couple pies and making a couple trips to the grocery store I realized that I had already spent way too much on pie and that I had twenty pies left. I just quit my job, have a baby coming, just bought a car, and only have so much student loan money to last through the month of December. Who am I kidding? I can’t make 23 pies right in a row, while trying to keep my grocery bill down! Maybe someday when I’m a doctor’s wife, but until then I’m just a poor medical students wife. So, I decided to cut back to 3 pies a week. That’s four pies less a week, but still gives you a truckload of pie ideas in time for Thanksgiving without breaking my piggy bank.
Logistics aside, lets talk about this pie. It’s a basic pie crust, filled with peaches, surrounded by a creamy filling, and topped with a crunchy brown sugar topping. It’s a very easy recipe and is a cinch to assemble. It kind of reminds me a little bit of peach cobbler or a peach dump cake. You can even use canned peaches to make things easier, with no harm done. Also, make sure you plan enough time for the pie to cool and set up before serving or it will be a gooey sloppy mess. I suggest letting it settle over night. Oh, and whipped cream or ice cream is a MUST!
Ingredients:
Crust: Makes enough for 2 single crust pies, or one double crust pie
- 2 1/2 flour
- 1 TBSP. sugar
- 1 tsp. table salt
- 1 C. (2 sticks) butter
- 1/2 to 1 C. ice water
Filling
- 10 canned peach halves or 2 1/2 C. fresh diced, peeled peaches
- 2 large eggs
- 1 C. sour cream
- 2 TBSP. honey
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 C. firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 2 TBSP. all-purpose flour
Topping:
- 1/2 C. firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1/3 C. all-purpose flour
- 4 TBSP. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Directions:
1. Make the pie dough by cutting up the cold butter into small cubes and set aside in the freezer. Mix together the flour, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle on the butter and mix in with a pastry cutter until shaggy and butter is the size of tiny peas. Drizzle in cold water over the butter and flour about a tablespoon at a time until it starts to come together. Use a rubber spatula to mush together. Once it starts to come together, use your hands to make a ball. It will still be a bit shaggy and crumbly. Don’t over mix it, or it wont be flaky.
2. Chill the pie dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Roll out the dough to fit a 9 inch pie plate with a little bit of over hang. Press the dough into the pie pan and poke holes with a fork. Fold under any overhanging dough and crimp the edges using fingers or a fork. Chill until ready to use.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Place peaches, cut side up, into the bottom of the pie shell. Or spread diced peaches evenly on the bottom of the pie shell.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, sour cream, and honey. Mix until combined. Sprinkle on the brown sugar and flour and mix until just combined. Pour mixture on top of the peaches.
5. For the topping, place the sugar, flour, and butter in a mixing bowl. Use your hands to work the butter into the flour and sugar until it resembles sand. Sprinkle on top of the pie and bake for about 45 minutes. It will be bubbly when it’s done. Let the pie cool overnight before serving. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.
Recipe adapted from Baked Explorations:Classic American Desserts Reinvented
