The BEST Peach Pie

The most perfect classic peach pie you could ever dream of is right here. With my favorite pie crust recipe and the most mouthwatering sure-fire filling using the juiciest peaches you can find, this pie is sure to be a yearly baking tradition and family favorite!

I love peaches. A lot, a lot. We had a peach tree growing in our backyard when I was little, and every other year it produced the most mouthwatering peaches. If we hadn't been rotten children and knocked too many off during our usual backyard shenanigans, there would be plenty for my Mom to can and bake with. My Mom would pick plenty for canning, and we'd be lucky enough to enjoy the juicy peaches from our backyard all year. My father-in-law also has a peach tree and usually pawns off as many as he can to our little family. We happily take as many as he'll part with, and make all kinds of treats, my roasted peach lemonade, and I always find myself making a peach pie. We serve ours a la mode with a bit of my favorite homemade salted caramel sauce.

I know I always say this, but this recipe is very easy to throw together. You start off with my favorite never-fail pie crust. It truly is the easiest and tastiest pie crust you'll ever need. And the "never-fail" part isn't irony (like my Mom's "never-fail" brownies that strangely seemed to always have something go crazy with them). So make that tasty crust, split it in half, press half into a pie dish, and roll the other half out in a circle for the top. You can lattice the heck out of it if you want to, but with peach pie, I like to keep it all covered during the baking process to ensure the peaches get cooked through all the way. After the crust is finished, let's head over to the filling.  

The filling is flawless. It's not too runny, not too dry - it's just the right amount of goo. Yep. Goo. It's a very technical term, I promise! haha. I know a lot of peach pie recipes call for you to peel the peaches before using them. LAME, I tell you. So much of the flavor of the peach pie is to be found in that fuzzy, gorgeous peach exterior. It cooks down, so you hardly notice the texture. You can definitely taste the difference, though, and it's an amazing difference! Plus, it's so much easier to not have to sit in the kitchen forever peeling peaches, am I right? With this filling, the juicier the peaches the better. You need the juice from the ripe peaches to mix in better with the dry ingredients for the filling. So if your peaches are just about ripe, wait another day or two until they're very ripe. Trust me. 

The rest of the filling comes together very quickly - adding in the dry ingredients to the juicy peaches and lemon juice. I've tried the filling with both almond or/and vanilla extract. You really can't go wrong with either - as long as you go very easy on the almond extract. It can be a pretty powerful flavor, and a little goes a very long way. The flavor goes great with the peaches, though! Just a bit of it, though. ;) 

I promise to share my homemade caramel sauce on here very soon. It is THE BOMB. I want to drizzle it on just about everything I can think of dessert-wise. It's salty, sweet, and keeps very well (for those late-night ice cream caramel drizzle cravings!). I finish each slice off with a heaping scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, drizzle away, and try my best to not eat more than half the pie in one sitting. Yep. It's that good! Enjoy! 

If you'd like to see a video of me making this pie, click here. Thanks! 

Classic Peach Pie

makes one pie

ingredients:

1 batch of my perfect pie crust

1 egg, beaten

5 C sliced fresh peaches

2 T lemon juice

1/2 C all-purpose flour

1/2 C white sugar

1/2 C brown sugar

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1/4 t ground cloves

1/4 t salt 

1/2 t almond extract 

method:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Lay out half of the rolled out pie dough in one pie dish, leave an overhang. Prick the bottom with a fork and set aside. 

2. Place the sliced peaches in a medium bowl and gently fold in the lemon juice and extract. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugars, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Pour over peaches, and fold in gently until all there are no pockets of flour. Pour into prepared pie crust. 

3. Cover with the other half of the rolled out pie crust, and cut holes to vent the steam. Pinch the outside of the two pie circle crusts together, and fold/flute over to seal (in whatever decorative way you'd like). Brush the entire top gently with the egg wash. 

4. Place pie in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees F, and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes. Cover edges halfway through with aluminum foil to prevent from browning too much. Cool before serving, but not too much. Serve warm a la mode.

Recipe source: Baking with Blondie