This recipe won first place in my town's peach pie contest and oh my! what a pie! Imagine no blanching and no peeling, the secret to unforgettable peach sweetness. This is a blue-ribbon pie, for sure.
“Baby don't you cry, gonna make a pie
Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle
Baby don’t be blue
Gonna make for you
Gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle
Gonna be a pie from the heaven above
Gonna be filled with strawberry love.”
~ Quincy Coleman song from the pie-inspiring film Waitress
(To listen along as you read, open this page in another window.)
In 2008, I judged my town’s first-ever peach pie contest. What a kick!
The organizers expected local grandmas to appear bearing pies oozing peach juice, filling the air with the scents of cinnamon and nutmeg and hmm, would anyone choose a pinch of ginger?
Instead, there were seven entries, including yes, a nice grandma or two. But then the young pie bakers arrived. A mother-daughter team was inspired by the movie Waitress, right down to the heart-shaped pastry in the center. A pair of giggly twenty-somethings entered on a lark, looked up recipes online and made not one but two very creditable pies; they laughed that their mothers don’t make pie – but now, thanks to the contest, they had!
My fellow judges and I nibbled at pastry and swooned over sweet peaches. Second prize went to a girl only 15 years old.
But first prize was no contest, all of us were seduced by one pie with an over-the-top, picked-prime peach flavor. Pie baker Chris Berg’s trick for capturing peach flavor? Cook the peaches with their skins on! Imagine, a recipe that is simpler (no blanching and no peeling) and better (oh-so-peachy).
I use 6 cups of peaches for a shallow pie pan, 8 for a deep-dish pie. I’ve adapted the filling recipe, cooking the syrup alone for a bit, adding the peaches at the last. This creates a thick syrup without overcooking the peaches. Should a lattice top be woven? Sure, if you insist. But to my aesthetic, weaving the lattice is more fuss and fret than fetching.
FIRST-PRIZE PEACH PIE
with LATTICE CRUST
Time to table: 4 - 5 hours
Serves 8 (see TIPS)
-
PIE CRUST
- Unbaked pastry for a two-crust pie (use your favorite recipe or use mine, see Flaky Tender Pie Crust or use a commercial pie crust)
-
FILLING
- 6 – 8 cups (see TIPS) ripe peaches, skins on
- 1-1/3 cups sugar
- 4 tablespoons flour (use 6 tablespoons for 8 cups peaches)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 tablespoons butter
CRUST Mix the pastry dough, let chill for at least 30 minutes. Roll out the bottom crust and arrange in a pie plate. Trim the pastry, leaving an inch hanging over the side. Refrigerate.
FILLING Slice the peaches in six or eight pieces lengthwise, then each piece into three or four pieces. In a large saucepan, gently stir together the peaches, sugar, flour and nutmeg. Let rest at room temperature for 20 – 30 minutes until a peachy syrup forms. (See TIPS.) With a slotted spoon, move the peach pieces to a bowl. Bring the remaining liquid to a boil over medium heat, reduce to low, cook for about 10 minutes or until just beginning to thicken. Stir in the peaches; stirring often, cook for another 10 minutes or until the peaches are tender. Take the pan off the heat, stir in vanilla and butter, stirring until butter melts. Let cool to room temperature. (The peach filling can be made ahead of time and refrigerated.)
ASSEMBLE Preheat oven to 425F. Roll the top crust, cut into nine long narrow strips. Working quickly, pour the filling into the bottom crust and arrange the pastry strips in a lattice, five strips running left to right, four strips running up and down (see TIPS). Turn the overhang over to form the crust’s edge, pinch to seal.
BAKE Bake at 425F for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350F, bake for another 25-35 minutes or until the crust is golden on top and bottom and the filling is bubbly.
COOL & SERVE Let cool for 2 hours or more. Slice, serve and savor. For extra decadence, top the slices with scoops of vanilla ice cream.
Do you have a favorite summer pie recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. Follow Kitchen Parade on Facebook!
A Small-Town Peach Festival
Left - Chris Berg and her prize-winning peach pie.
Top Center - A pastry heart in the center of the peach pie, inspired by the movie Waitress.
Center - Pie bakers Morgan and Rian, helping Morgan's mom Ashley Herrick bake a peach pie filled with love, recipe here.
Bottom Center - The 2010 Kirkwood Peach Festival is Saturday, July 17
Right - Peaches from Missouri and Illinois are 'the best'!
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Cait ~ Good question, I should have mentioned it. The skins just 'melt' into the peaches, you don't even know they're there. THAT's how it will work!
I found you through foodgawker. I only had 1 pie shell and 4 cups of my peaches from my try. The peach tart is in the oven. Can I post and link the recipe back to your blog? Your blog is great! I can not wait to explore more. -Tien
Alanna, do you suppose the filling would freeze well, too? I mean, how awesome would it be to bake a "fresh" peach pie, say, for Thanksgiving?
The last peach pie I made was a Bourbon-Peach Pie (southern recipe) and while it was good, it wasn't great. This one will be next on the list and you are so right---peaches from Missouri & southern Illinois are the BEST!!
These were fresh peaches from a local fruit stand, but they were a little on the unripe side, so maybe that affected the color once the filling was cooked.
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Thank you for taking a moment to write! I read each and every comment, for each and every recipe. If you have a specific question, it's nearly always answered quick-quick. But I also love hearing your reactions, your curiosity, even your concerns! When you've made a recipe, I especially love to know how it turned out, what variations you made, what you'll do differently the next time. ~ Alanna