My Favorite Peach Pie

My Favorite Peach Pie
Perfectly ripe, "pie-worthy" peaches from Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood, Calif. (Andrew Scrivani)
8/1/2018
Updated:
8/1/2018

My Favorite Peach Pie

Peach pie is one of the absolute best ways to make friends of your neighbors. If they don’t love you after eating this pie, then I believe there just might be a serious question as to their character to begin with. I could tell you the story of the man who moved next door to Pie Cottage and told me he didn’t like pie when I brought him one as a welcome gift. I should have known right then and there that he was not going to stick around for long. But that’s a story for another day. This pie is very juicy, so be sure to add extra thickener to the filling.
Makes one 9-inch deep-dish pie
  • 6 cups (680–900 grams), about 1½–2 pounds, sweet, ripe, free-stone peaches, halved, pitted, sliced and chopped
  • 1/4–1/2 cup (50–100 grams) sugar; adjust for the sweetness of the fruit
  • A small pinch of fresh ground nutmeg, enough that you can smell it when you lean down close to the bowl
  • 1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2–3 teaspoons (10–15 grams) Cointreau or other orange liqueur (optional)
  • 1/3 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
  • 1/4 cup (36 grams) flour
  • 2 tablespoons (24 grams) quick-cooking tapioca
  • 1 recipe double-crust pie dough
  • 1/2 tablespoon (7 grams) butter
  • 1–2 teaspoons (4–8 grams) sugar, for sprinkling on top of the pie
  • 1 egg white plus 1 tablespoon (15 grams) water, fork beaten
Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).

Place the peaches, sugar, nutmeg, lemon juice, Cointreau, salt, flour, and quick-cooking tapioca in a big bowl. Mix lightly until the fruit is coated.

Roll out the bottom dough and place it in a pie pan.

Spoon in the fruit filling and dot with butter cut into little pieces with your fingers.

Roll out the remaining dough, lay it over the fruit, and cut 5 to 6 vents on top, or cut strips and make a lattice top. Trim excess dough from the edges and crimp.

Lightly brush some of the egg white wash over the entire pie, including the edges.

Bake for 20 minutes at 425°F (220°C). Reduce the heat to 375°F (190°C) and bake for 40 to 45 minutes more. When there are 10 to 15 minutes of bake time left, open the oven, pull the pie out, and quickly and evenly sprinkle the top of the pie with sugar. Close the oven and continue baking for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until you see steady bubbling in the filling coming through the vents or lattice.

Remove the pie from the oven and cool completely before serving so the filling can set up, although warm peach pie is delicious.

Note:

This recipe uses the preheat first, no time to chill the pie method, but use what works best for you depending on time and temperature.

Recipe reprinted with permission from “Art of the Pie: A Practical Guide to Homemade Crusts, Fillings, and Life” by Kate McDermott. Published by The Countryman Press, a division of W.W. Norton & Company.
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