Fourth of July

Goodbye Summer Extra-Large Peach Pie

by:
September  3, 2012
4
1 Ratings
  • Serves 10-12
Author Notes

About twenty years ago, I spent a summer in rural Georgia, living with my boyfriend's family. They had a huge vegetable garden and many peach trees. BF's grandmother and I picked wild blackberries and made jelly. BF's mom taught me how to make and can (excuse me, how to "put up") pickles and jellies. She had an ice cream maker and I made a lot of peach ice cream that summer. We picked and shelled a lot of black-eye peas and purple hull peas. BF's Dad let me drive his '65 mustang whenever I needed a car. It was an incredible summer, even though the boyfriend and I broke up that Fall.
So a few days ago when I across some beautiful organically-grown peaches, I decided to make a pie for a Labor Day gathering. On a whim I decided to use the peels and pits for extra flavor and pectin, as I did along time ago when making jelly. If you can't get pesticide-free peaches, or just don't feel like doing so, step #7 can be skipped.
This recipe is for a larger pie pan, mine measures 11" across rim to rim and it is a little deeper than the standard. I also used a sweet crust recipe that uses an egg; it can be re-rolled easily and good for lattice top. Really for a double-crust XL pie the dough amount should be increased (maybe 1.25 to 1.5 times), but I like a thin crust. —Sadassa_Ulna

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • Peach Filling
  • 4 pounds peaches, pesticide-free if possible
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed firmly
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 3 tablespoons corn starch
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 1 recipe pie dough below
  • Sweet Pie Dough, Double Recipe
  • 2-3/4 cups unbleached white flour
  • 1/3 cup
    2Tbsp. white sugar, divided


  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 additional egg white
Directions
  1. Mix 1/3 c. sugar and other dry ingredients in a bowl (or in bowl of food processor).
  2. Chop butter into chunks and dump into flour; cut butter into flour with a pastry cutter (or pulse in processor) until mixture looks like coarse cornmeal.
  3. In a separate bowl beat eggs plus egg white together, then pour into flour-butter mixture. Stir with a spoon (or pulse in processor) until mixture forms a ball. Knead on a floured surface with just a few strokes.
  4. Divide into two slightly uneven portions; press each into a 6" circle and wrap each in plastic wrap. Chill at least one hour or store up to three days in the refrigerator.
  5. Fold peaches over each other gently to coat evenly and allow to sit 20 minutes or so.
  6. Meanwhile add 3/4 cup of water to the peelings and pits and cook over medium heat. Mixture will thicken; turn off heat and strain mixture saving the liquid. Pour liquid - it should be about 2-3 tablespoons - back into saucepan.
  7. Pour off as much liquid from the macerating peaches that you can and add to the saucepan.
  8. Whisk cornstarch, spices, and salt into the liquid in saucepan. Cook over medium heat and start whisking as mixture becomes hot. Turn off heat and add butter, whisk to blend.
  9. Set oven rack at below midway; heat oven to 425 degrees.
  10. Roll out larger disk of pie dough and line pie pan. Dump half of peaches in, then pour peach liquid over peaches. Add remaining peaches.
  11. Add top crust. Cut steam vents if using a whole top crust. Slide pie into oven on a baking sheet.
  12. Bake 40-45 minutes; after 20 minutes over edges with a ring of foil if desired, to avoid over-browning.
  13. Pie can be glazed 5 minutes before end of bake time with the following mixture: mix 2 Tbsp. sugar with 2 Tbsp. water in a mug and microwave until hot, about 45 seconds. Use a pastry brush to brush glaze onto hot pie and pop back in oven for last 5 minutes.
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Sadassa_Ulna

Recipe by: Sadassa_Ulna

Growing up I was the world's pickiest eater, that is, until my children were born. Karma. Neither of my parents were much into cooking; it was the height of eating fat-free or anything with oat bran added. I taught myself some basics, mostly baking, following the guidelines of a well-worn copy of Joy of Cooking. I was a ballet dancer and a teacher suggested I lose weight. As I began reading about diet and nutrition I became interested in natural foods, which led to a job at a macrobiotic natural foods market in Center City Philadelphia; this was way before Whole Foods came to the area. I learned a lot about food in general. I ate strictly vegan for a while, although I don't now, but I still like it when a recipe can taste great without butter or bacon! In short, my approach to cooking is idiosyncratic, and I don't know very much about cooking meat or proper technique. I love to bake and I am still working on expanding my palate and my repertoire. The hardest part is getting the whole family to try new things! So aside from my food status, I am an architect who likes to garden and play music. I'm married with two kids, and I hope to get a dog someday.

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