A SLICE OF SUGAR-HEAVEN

Taste of Home’s August/September 2009 issue heralded the first-place Great American Pie Show winner as “a slice of heaven.”  I was a semi-finalist in this bakeoff, and didn’t get to taste Sherrell Dikes’ Sour Cream Peach Pecan Pie, but I figured if it won $2,500 and beat 11 other pies, then it must be good.  What I didn’t count on was the collective sweet tooth of the judges.  This pie is more like a Southern sugar cream pie.  There actually is such a thing.  To each his own, but I prefer my fruit pies to taste like fruit, not sugar.  I did not like this pie and will not be making it again.  I made it exactly as the recipe was written, no changes, and took it to a crab party.  Two of the people went crazy over it, and the rest of us were underwhelmed.  Some people like ultra-sweet desserts.  If you’re in that category, then this pie is definitely for you.

TASTE OF HOME SOUR CREAM PEACH PECAN PIE Source:  Sherrell Dikes, Holiday Island, Arkansas Rating:  5 out of 10

Ingredients Pastry for single-crust pie (9 inches) 4 cups sliced peeled peaches 2 tablespoons peach preserves 1 cup sugar 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream 3 egg yolks 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon vanilla extract TOPPING: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup sugar 3 tablespoons chopped pecans 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 cup cold butter, cubed Directions Line a 9-in. pie plate with pastry; trim and flute edges. In a large bowl, combine peaches and preserves.  Transfer to pastry. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar, sour cream, egg yolks, flour and vanilla.   Pour over peaches. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the flour, sugars, pecans and cinnamon.   Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over pie. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and topping is golden brown. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning if necessary. Cool completely on a wire rack for 3 hours before serving. Store in the refrigerator. Yield: 8 servings.

THRIFTY THURSDAY LITTLE PEACH PIES

You're probably wondering how little peach pies can be part of Thrifty Thursday. I'll tell you how. It's really quite simple, actually.
You have to learn to save.

When you use a pie crust for a pie or pastry, don't throw the scraps away. Freeze them. When you make a crumble topping for a dessert, don't throw the extra topping away. Add it to a plastic container that you keep in the freezer. It won't matter if the crumble toppings are all different. Save them in the same container.
And, if you can find them, buy these wonderful little pot pie pans. I was lucky and found them on clearance dirt cheap. You can make pot pies in them, but you can also make little peach pies, or little blueberry pies, or ...... use your imagination.
It just so happens that I had just enough pie dough in the freezer to fill one of these little pans. And some crumble topping that I'd been saving, also in the freezer. And some fresh peaches. One pie was plenty for hubby and me. We each had half. And no leftovers! You can double or triple the recipe to make more pies, but it was nice making one itty bitty pie just for the two of us.

Little Peach Pies
Source: Judy's Kitchen
Rating: 9 out of 10

INGREDIENTS: 7" round of pastry dough to fit pot pie pan
1 cup chopped fresh peaches
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. instant tapioca granules
2 tsp. butter
3 Tbsp. crumb topping

Heat oven to 400F. Place pizza stone or unglazed quarry tiles on center rack of oven. Roll out pie dough to fit pan; place in pan; trim and crimp edges. Refrigerate. Combine peaches, lemon juice, sugar, and tapioca in small bowl; toss to mix ingredients. Let stand 15 minutes. Fill crust with peaches. Spoon crumble topping over peaches. Place pan on a square of tinfoil and pull edges up to slightly cover edges of pie. Bake 45-50 minutes, pulling tinfoil away from edges during last 10 minutes of baking. When filling bubbles, remove pie and cool on wire rack.
If you want more tips on how to save, visit Amanda at her blog to see what she and other thrifty bloggers have to say.

OLD-FASHIONED PEACH PIE WITH BERRY SAUCE

My fridge is loaded with peaches but, thankfully, we had company for dinner last night so I used some of them for this peach pie. This recipe is old; I don't remember the source, but I have made it a few times, and it's a winner. Everyone loves it; the flavors are perfect. This time, though, I served it with a berry sauce instead of whipped cream or ice cream, and it was even better, if that could be possible. I had exactly one pie crust left in the freezer (my favorite recipe makes 4 crusts), so it got used. Instead of rolling it in flour, I rolled it in self-rising cornmeal, and the result was very nice; it made the crust a little firmer while not interfering with the tenderness and flakiness. I will definitely do that again when I make another fruit pie.

The first photo of a pie slice was taken when the pie was room temperature. It kind of drooped on the plate and wasn't anything beautiful to behold. The bottom photo was taken after a night in the fridge. It definitely sits up better after being chilled. This pie tastes great when it's first made and tastes wonderful the next day after chilling out. It's just a great pie! Oh, and if the heavy cream bothers you, consider this: there's only one crust, so remember that you are losing the fat that would have been in the top crust; there's no butter in the peach filling; and, a berry sauce instead of ice cream or whipped cream will eliminate even more fat. All in all, it's pretty much a washout; and this pie is no more fat-laden than any other.

Old-Fashioned Peach Pie with Berry Sauce
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1 pie crust for a 9" pie plate

5-1/2 to 6 cups fresh sliced peaches

2 tsp. lemon juice

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp. quick-cooking tapioca

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/8 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425F. Line a baking pan with tinfoil. Roll out pie pastry to fit a 9" pie plate; make a high-standing rim around edge; set aside. Peel and slice peaches into a large bowl. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Heat cream and tapioca in small saucepan to boiling point; remove from heat and stir in sugar, salt and cinnamon. Arrange peaches in pie shell. Pour cream mixture over peaches. Place pie on lined baking pan and bake 50 - 55 minutes, or until crust is browned and peach filling is bubbling. (Note: I covered my crust with a pie shield after the first 20 minutes, so it wouldn't burn.) Serve pie with ice cream, whipped cream, creme fraiche or berry sauce. Yield: 8 servings.

PEACH CREAM PIE GLACE`

Company for dinner Sunday night gave me an excuse to make a new dessert. Well, not really new.  This is an oldie but goodie, from McCall's Book of Cakes and Pies, circa 1965. There are some things that just can't be improved upon. This is one of them. A sweet lemonny cookie crust with a cinammon-flavored cheesecake filling, topped with fresh juicy peaches and pureed peach preserves. It doesn't get much better. Peaches and Cream. We all loved it --- again.

This dessert will only be as good as its ingredients. Taste the peaches to be sure they are sweet and juicy
before you go to the trouble of making this. This year, it seems the peaches are better than ever, extra-large and very juicy. And, BTW, if you use extra-large peaches, you will get a different design on the top than if you use a medium-sized peach.  Take a look at the top photo with the fluted edges. That's from the cookbook. Do you see how the center section is larger than mine? That's because my peaches were so large, they took up more room, leaving a small center. I didn't try to flute the edges because the dough was very short, and it was just easier not to. Have it your way -- fluted or not, but make this pie. It's a winner.

Peach Cream Pie Glace`
Rating: 9 out of 10
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Cookie Crust Pie Shell:
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 egg yolk, slightly beaten
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine flour, sugar, and lemon peel in medium bowl. With pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Stir in egg yolk and vanilla. Mix pastry, with hands, until well blended. Pat evenly in 9" pie plate; make a small edge on rim (or not -- I didn't). Refrigerate.


Filling:
12 oz. soft Neufchatel cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. vanilla paste or vanilla
2 extra-large fresh ripe peaches (about 1-3/4 lb.)
1/2 cup peach preserves, purchased or homemade


Preheat oven to 375F.   In small bowl of electric mixer, at medium speed, beat cheese until light and fluffy. At low speed, beat in sugar, eggs, and cinnamon until smooth.   Pour filling into unbaked pie shell. Bake 30 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is just about set in center. Cool completely on wire rack.

Wash peaches; peel. Halve peaches; remove pits and slice. Arrange sliced peaches over cooled filling.
In small saucepan, combine peach preserves with 2 tsp. water. Cook, stirring, over low heat, until preserves are melted. Press preserve mixture through sieve, to puree. Spoon evenly over peach slices.  Refrigerate 1 hour, or until well chilled.  Makes 8 servings.

ALMOND LIQUEUR PEACH PIE

New Bern is a small coastal North Carolina town with southern charm, a great historic district and, best of all, leaders with a vision for the town's future. When Guy and I moved here 14 years ago, we chose New Bern because it stood out from all the other South and North Carolina coastal towns we visited. We love.... the convenience of being able to travel from one side of town to the other in less than 15 minutes.... the abundance of local artists... seeing the boats docked at the Sheraton... walking into a store and meeting a neighbor or friend...having our own TV station and newspaper...the sense of community and identity that somehow wasn't so strong in New Jersey.

We have a lot to be proud of here in New Bern. But one thing we miss is shopping. That is, of course, our trade-off:   for less traffic and lighter population, we get fewer retail stores. Oh, we have Penney's and Belk's, Lowe's, TJ Max, Wal-Mart and Target. But Sam's Club, Costco, Steinmart, Nordstrom's, Hecht's and Dillards are missing, and there's no Whole Foods, Earth Fare or Trader Joe's.  Retail comes up short in New Bern, but road-side stands with good local produce abound.  Right now peaches are everywhere. Sweet, juicy, fresh peaches. And peach pie has been uppermost in my thoughts this week. The following is my own recipe, and after tasting it, the only thing I would change next time is to increase the cinnamon by 1/2 tsp. The almond liqueur really gave this a nice but subtle flavor, and the fresh peaches were enhanced by it. Here's the recipe:

Almond Liqueur Peach Pie

INGREDIENTS:

Pie Crust: Your favorite double-crust pie crust  

Filling:
6 cups peeled and sliced ripe peaches (approx. 3 lbs.)

3/4 cup sugar

2-1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. cinnamon (Consider increasing this to 1 tsp.)

1/8 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ginger

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup or more peach juice from drained peaches

1/4 cup almond liqueur

Glaze:
2 Tbsp. milk, cream, half and half, or fat-free half and half

1 Tbsp. sugar

DIRECTIONS: Place sliced peaches in a large colander that sits in a pan or bowl that will catch the juice. Sprinkle with 2 Tbsp. of the sugar and let stand until at least 1/2 cup juice is released. This could take an hour or so.

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and place a pizza stone (or four unglazed quarry tiles) on the rack. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and let the stone (or tiles) heat for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out chilled pie dough to fit the bottom of an 8- or 9-inch pie pan, preferably earthenware or glass, not metal. Press peaches slightly to get as much juice as possible, scraping the bottom of the colander for additional juice. Transfer juice to small saute pan with the butter and bring to a boil. Add 1/4 cup sugar and boil for a few minutes to slightly reduce the liquid. Remove from heat and add the remainder of the sugar with the liqueur and stir to combine.

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and spices.

Dump the peaches into the bowl that the colander was sitting in and lightly toss with the cornstarch mixture, then with the boiled mixture, till all is combined. Spoon into pie crust. Roll out top crust and cover the pie.

Set an 18-inch square of heavy-duty foil on the pizza stone or tiles. Set pie on foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove pie from oven, brush with a glaze of milk and sugar that have been mixed together in a small bowl. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes longer. Bring foil around pie to loosely cover and to keep pie from getting too brown. Bake until filling bubbles, 15-20 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack for 2-3 hours before serving.