Georgia Peach Pie

Pie. Who doesn't love it? Tender flaky crusts and deliciously, sweet fillings. The pie possibilities are endless. Fruits, nuts, chocolates, and custards. They all make for delectable pies!

This week I received my dessert inspiration from my mother. As a family, we decided to take a day trip to the Warner Robbins Air Force base in south Georgia. While on the road, we saw sign after sign encouraging us to purchase sweet Georgia peaches. Naturally a brilliant idea dawned upon my oh so wise mother. She recalled the absolutely delicious apple pie I have been making for Thanksgiving tables for years and thought I might be able to make a peach pie contender. Sounded like a scrumptious idea to me, so I obliged.

If you're having a rotten day, do yourself a favor and make pie dough. Nothing makes me happier than playing with soft, buttery pie dough! That may be a bit of an over-exaggeration, but it is incredibly therapeutic. Now I know, at this point, most of you are running for the hills at the mention of making your own pastry dough. While I understand the intimidation factor, I'm going to break down the techniques and hopefully make this easy as... pie!

Once you get over the ridiculously cheesiness of that last sentence, we'll get going on that pie dough.

Now then. Using a food processor, I mixed together flour and salt. I also added a touch of sugar to bring a little life to the pie crust. Then I pulsed in the most integral ingredients: butter and vegetable shortening. I cannot stress enough how important it is to have previously cubed and chilled the butter and shortening. Keeping the crust ingredients cold will make for an incredibly flaky crust. Additionally, if you don't own a food processor, you can opt to use a pastry cutter. (Look for something like this: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/stainless-steel-pastry-blender/) A pastry cutter will work just as well but will require a good bit of manual labor on your part. Now this next step is about the only tricky bit to making the perfect pie dough. While pulsing the dough, I drizzled in ice cold water and a splash of vanilla. The vanilla makes for a deliciously flavored crust. And again be sure the water is ice cold to make for a tender crust. Often times, the amount of water necessary varies day to day and depends on the humidity in the air. This week I needed about five tablespoons of water in addition to a table spoon of vanilla extract. When you try this recipe at home add enough water just until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl and resembles the consistency of course, wet sand. Remember, you can always add water, but you can't take it away!

Finally, I floured my counter top and poured the dough mixture onto my work surface. After flouring my hands, I gently and quickly formed a disk with the dough. I wrapped the disk in plastic wrap and chilled for several hours. When working with pastry dough, it is incredibly important to avoid over-working the dough. You should be sure to mix all ingredients until just combined; otherwise, you will end up with a tough pie crust. Additionally, be sure to chill your dough before baking. Again, keeping the dough cold will help to ensure a pleasant and tender crust texture. Please don't skip this step. I promised pie crust would be simply, not necessarily quick! Your patience will be rewarded.

Next, I began prepping the pie filling. First, I dropped each of the peaches into a large pot of boiling water. After sixty seconds I shocked the peaches in an ice water bath. The objective here is not to cook the peaches. Rather, allowing the peaches a quick soak in the boiling water will help to easily remove the peel. Using a combination of a vegetable peeler and a pairing knife, I peeled and sliced each of the peaches. I personally prefer thin slices of fruit in my pies, but feel free to slice the peaches a bit thicker if you so desire. In a bowl I combined the peach slices with lemon juice, cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla and honey. I really enjoy the flowery notes the honey brings to the pie, as well as the molasses undertones the brown sugar contributes. Then to thicken up the filling, I added a bit of flour. I don't really enjoy thick and gloppy fruit pies, so I tend to go a little light on the flour.

After allowing the pie dough to chill, I removed it from the fridge. As this is a double crust pie, I cut the disk in half. Using a rolling pin, I rolled each of the dough pieces into circles large enough to fill the entirety of a pie pan.When rolling out dough, start from the center and push the rolling pin out to the sides. Be sure to apply a consistent amount of pressure on the rolling pin to ensure an even crust thickness. Using a pastry scrapper, I gently removed one of the pie crusts from the counter and placed it in a buttered pie pan. I poured the peaches into the pie pan and topped with the remaining circle of pie dough. Using a combination of my fingers and a fork I sealed the edges of the pie crust. In my personal opinion, pies should look rustic and homemade, so I don't usually strive for perfection when crimping my pie crust. Finally, I brushed the top of the pie with a splash of cream, sprinkled it with a bit sugar, and cut a few slits in the center of the crust. Unless you prefer pie bombs, I suggest you poke a few holes in the top of your pie to allow steam to escape.

Now it was just a matter of waiting, two hours, for pie goodness! Remember if the crust is browning too quickly, cover the pie with aluminum foil. Also as difficult as it may seem, allow the pie to cool a couple of hours before serving. Personally, I topped my warm peach pie with ice cold vanilla bean ice cream, and subsequently ruined my diet.

While the flavors were delicious and the pie crust was right on point, I did notice that the peach filling was a bit runny. When you try this recipe at home, consider adding a touch more flour to reach your desired pie filling consistency. Additionally, if you're not a fan of peaches, feel free to substitute some of your favorite fruits. Apple slices are always a solid standard. I might also try adding a few frozen cherries to the peach mixture the next go around. Like I said originally, everyone loves a good piece of pie and it couldn't be any easier to make it your own! Enjoy!

Georgia Peach Pie

Ingredients:
For the crust

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 stick butter, cubed and chilled
• 1/2 cup shortening, cubed and chilled
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 5 tbsp ice water

For the filling

• 8 fresh peaches
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3-4 tbsp flour

• cream to brush pie top
• sugar in the raw for pie top
• cinnamon for pie top

In a food processor, blend together flour, salt, and sugar. Pulse in butter and shortening. Do not over work. Add vanilla. Gradually add ice water until dough just begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl and resembles the consistency of wet sand. Pour mixture onto clean and floured work surface. Pull dough together with hands and quickly form a disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour.

Submerge peaches in boiling water for one minute. Place peaches in ice bath until cool. Using a vegetable peeler, remove peach skin. Cut in half and remove pit. Slice each of the peach halves. In a bowl combine peaches, lemon juice, cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, and honey. Mix in flour and let stand for about 15 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Remove dough from fridge and cut in half. On a floured surface, roll out each piece of dough into a circle large enough to hang over the edges of a pie pan. Mold one piece of the dough into a buttered pie pan. Pour in peach mixture. Place additional pie crust over the top of the peaches. Using the tines of a fork, crimp the pie crust pieces together. Cut several small slits in the top of the pie. Brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Place pie in oven and immediately reduce the temperature to 375°F. Bake for 2 hours. Cover with foil if crust begins to brown too quickly. Cool completely before serving.

Serves 8.

Side Note:

My family and I were so very excited about peach pie, we also decided to pick up a handful of delicious Georgia pecans for another pie. While I used the same pie crust recipe above, I adapted Tyler Florence's Bourbon and Chocolate Pecan Pie recipe. (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/bourbon-and-chocolate-pecan-pie-recipe/index.html) Rather than bake one large pie, I decided it might be cute to make individual tarts. I lined eight small, fluted tart pans with my crust recipe and filled each with a couple of tablespoons of chopped pecans and a ladle-full of Tyler's filling. I baked the pies for about thirty minutes. Not only is Tyler an absolute babe, but he makes a damn good pie.