Friend.
Foe.
Peace summit.
I’m not sure what possessed me to make a pie on a particularly hormonal pregnancy day. My mind was reeling after hours of nursery furniture research (not as fun as it sounds) and if you’ve ever made a pie from scratch, you know it’s best to have a clear head when you embark on the challenge that is pie crust. But summer fruit…it calls to me. It begs to be cradled in pastry and consumed with a wide assortment of sweetened dairy products. I made a quick blackberry pie (with store-bought crust) last week when I visited my brother and sister-in-law in Oregon, and once I had a taste, I knew more fruit pies were in my future.
The filling was a no-brainer. California peaches are spectacular right now, and this recipe is a nice twist on a traditional peach pie. And unlike most fruit pies, it only requires one crust, using a streusel topping in lieu of the usual top layer of pastry. I accepted the challenge and embarked on a crust making adventure that landed my first attempt directly in the trash. Why? Well, it combined butter and shortening, and I have come to the conclusion that because the two fats are different textures, it’s hard to mix them together and get a uniform consistency (i.e., those “pea-sized crumbles” of fat coated with flour). Consequently, rolling such a crust is a giant pain in the rear. I nearly turned to a frozen pie crust when I remembered my mom’s technique: use only shortening, and don’t chill the dough before you roll it out. It goes against most recipes you see for pie crust, but it’s how she learned to make it, and hers is pretty darn tasty. You can see my finished product, above, and while it’s far from perfect, I have to say it rolled out MUCH easier and tasted good, to boot.
So despite my love of butter, I may be a Crisco convert. And once again, mother knows best.
My mom still uses Crisco. But my grandma used real lard. I have used Crisco, but can’t bring myself to get the lard yet.
Looks beautiful! Might have to try one myself this weekend
you are brave indeed making pie crust…so glad there was s truce involved too
That looks AMAZING! My Great Great Aunt used to make a peach pie that was slightly custardy. YUMMMM!
This post totally had me laughing. I loved the captions and, as a girl who experiments with recipes regularly in the kitchen, completely relate to the frustration of throwing something out! Your final, successful attempt looks AMAZING!
Hi! I found your blog through Eat Live Run not too long ago and it’s great! I live in SF too and have a 6 1/2 month old, and your comment about nursery furniture shopping, paired with a delicious looking pie, made me come out of lurkdom to comment! Hopefully you’re using the Baby Bargains book for your research and checking things out at Lullaby Lane! All the decisions can be overwhelming so my advice is to take deep breaths and eat more pie!
Your pie looks amazing…glad to hear the second batch was easier to get into the pan. Every recipe I see now says to chill the dough…however that makes it a lot harder to roll out.