Bensonhurst Kitchen: Peach Pie
One thing I really like about peach pie is that it’s seasonal. Unlike with apples, you generally can’t get decent peaches year-round. The fact that fresh and ripe local peaches are almost exclusively a late summer phenomenon seems to make them somewhat more… special.
This week, Colleen makes a peach pie using two different varieties of peach – white peaches for their low-acidity sweetness and yellow for their tangy acidity. The combination of these two types result in a praise-worthy and crowd-pleasing peach pie filling.
Pies are generally easy to make, even by an inexperienced baker. Elaborate cakes or pastries are one thing but there’s really no reason the average person needs to throw his/her money away on a store-bought pie when a better one can be baked right here at home.
Colleen’s Peach Pie
Ingredients:
Pie Crust
1 cup unsalted butter, chilled
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 cup ice water
Filling
1 egg, beaten
5 cups sliced peeled peaches
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
Directions:
Pie Crust
Combine flour and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer.
Cut butter into tablespoon pieces; add it to the flour. Use the paddle beater to cut the butter and flour together. (This can be done by hand with a pastry blender.)
Set the mixer on low speed pour in the cold water. When the dough starts to clump, and before it turns into a ball, stop stirring. (If you are doing this by hand, add the cold water while stirring the mixture with a fork)
Lightly knead dough in the bowl until it forms a ball.
Divide dough into two parts. Chill for about 30 minutes before rolling out your pie crust.
Filling
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees
Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate with one of the pie crusts.
Using a pastry brush, brush with some of the beaten egg to keep the dough from becoming soggy later.
Place the sliced peaches in a large bowl, and sprinkle with lemon juice.
Mix gently.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour over the peaches, and mix gently.
Pour into the pie crust, and dot with butter. Cover with the other pie crust, and fold the edges under. Using your fingers pinch the crust all the way around. Brush the remaining egg over the top crust. Cut several slits in the top crust to vent steam.
Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, until the crust is brown and the juice begins to bubble through the vents. Cool before serving.
TIPS: The edges of your pie usually brown before the rest of your pie. To keep them from burning cover the edges with strips of aluminum foil or a pie crust shield about halfway through baking.
If you are the creative type show it off in your pie crust! Instead of just cutting slits in your top pie crust try using a pie crust cutter or even your favorite cookie cutter to makes shapes and designs.
If you can keep from eating all your peach pie right away, it tastes even better after it has been sitting in the fridge overnight!
