The Peach {Birthday} Pie

What a beautiful time of year here in Toronto. The sun is shining and warm, but the breeze is lovely and cool. And every produce stand is deluged with corn, bees, and PEACHES!

(the culprit...)

How could I resist? A very dear friend's birthday is Monday, so what a great excuse for peach pie!
I have never made peach pie, so after a bit of research and perusing various recipe suggestions (peach bourbon, peach caramel, peach galette, peach crumble), I decided on a very basic peach pie.
The first step is to peel the peaches. A great way to turn a potentially messy situation into a manageable task, is to start by blanching the peaches.
First, score the bottom of each peach.



Then submerge in boiling water for about 40 seconds.



Remove from water and place hot peaches in an ice-water bath. This will loosen the skin so that they are super easy to remove.

(these are the naked peaches, with a tactile feeling that elicits many analogies...)

I sliced the peaches - about 5 - 6 cups total.

(still life with kettle and peaches)

Added 1/4c flour, 3/4c sugar (half white, half brown), 3 tbsp chopped crystallized ginger, juice from 1/2 lemon.

Then I strained the mixture. My peaches were awfully ripe, and because I was about to become the biggest cheat in baking history (I am using ... pause .... a packaged pie shell *gasp*), I was afraid that the entire mixture wouldn't fit into my pie dish. So all the lovely juices and sugar ended up in a bowl. It was well over 1 cup of liquid that my pie couldn't afford to keep.

After pouring the peaches into the pastry dish, I dotted with butter.


And covered with the second pie shell.

Baked for 15 min at 425 F on the bottom rung. Then turned the oven down to 325 F for the next 30 min. It was gorgeous. But I had to resist temptation and let it sit until the following day for the actual birthday celebration.


Success! Honestly, this is one of the best fruit pies I have ever had. Just the freshest, most delicious fruit without any overbearing sugary sweetness. The pastry perfectly balanced out the softness of the peaches. And the ginger? A perfect twist that surprises. And my friend was so delighted with his peach birthday pie that we ate nearly half the pie in one sitting.