Peaches galore!

Peaches galore! I bought a small basket of peaches ( I counted 13) at the local farmers' market last Saturday and later that evening a friend gave me another 8 huge ones! Wow, so many and nearly half of them were ripe and ready to eat. And eat them we did but we couldn't eat them fast enough and so I had to use up some of the ripe ones for a couple of pies. This photo shows the remaining peaches. Aren't they pretty?

Fresh peach pie, fresh from the oven!

I always try to make pies as healthy as possible so that I can eat more and not feel guilty about it!I usually use vegetable oil instead of butter for the crusts. The top crust does not come out as flakey as the ones made from butter and shortening, but I do not mind giving that up in exchange for something with very much less saturated fat. An oil crust is delicious in its own way. You will have to try it to see what I mean.

Like most pies, a peach pie has to be allowed to cool completely before you cut into it. Otherwise the filling will be too runny.

Yum....a slice of heaven!

Recipe:

Pie filling:

5 cups peeled and sliced peaches

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup All-Purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crust:

2 cups All-Purpose flour

a small pinch of salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

5 tablespoons cold water

Combine peaches, sugar, flour and cinnamon in a sauce pan and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Place the pan over a medium fire and stir the mixture until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and continue stirring for about 5 minutes until the mixture becomes slightly thick. Do not over cook. Add in the butter and vanilla extract. Stir to incorporate well. Leave the mixture to cool while you prepare the crust.

Place 2 cups flour in a medium bowl. Stir in the salt. Add water to the oil and pour the mixture into the flour. Use a fork to incorporate the oil/water mixture into flour. Using one hand form the dough into a ball. It should be tender and not sticky. Divide the dough into 2 pieces and form into disks. Roll out one disk of dough between 2 pieces of wax paper. Try to make a circle about 11 inches in diameter. Place the dough gently into a pie plate.

Fill the pie plate with the peach mixture.

Roll out the second disk of dough and lay it over the peach mixture. Fold edges under and crimp to seal. Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle over with coarse sugar. Make a few slits to allow steam to escape during baking.

Bake in a preheated 425 F oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350F and bake another 35 minutes until the top is nicely browned and the filling starts to bubble through the slits.

Leave pie to cool thoroughly before cutting. Serve with whipped cream, or ice cream if desired.