Dessert Recipe: Fresh Peach Pie

12 Tomatoes has already shared some fantastic pies in the past from the savory (Steak and Guinness,chicken pot pie, tomato pie, cottage pie, shepherd's pie) to the sweet (Maple pecan pie, pumpkin pie,apple and pear pie). Today we're sharing another great sweet pie recipe: peach pie!

If you can snag some fresh peaches, this recipe will be a real winner. If it's not peach season, try to get your hands on imported peaches and prepare to wow family and friends with this scrumptious pie.

Fresh Peach Pie

Ingredients

FILLING

• 3lbs peaches, peeled, quartered, and pitted. Cut each quarter into thirds
• 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons no-sugar-needed fruit pectin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• a pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon corn starch

PIE CRUST

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks tablespoons unsalted butter chilled and cut into 1/2 tablespoon pieces
• 1/2 cup ice water

Directions

1. Start by making the pie dough. Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Use two forks to work the butter into the flour until a coarse meal forms and there are no pieces bigger than a pea.
2. Gently stir in the ice water with a rubber spatula, mixing it until a solid, craggy mass forms. knead the dough two to three times to form a ball. Divide in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and flatten slightly into a disc. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Toss the pieces, 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lemon zest, juice, and salt in a medium bowl. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to an hour. In a small bowl, combine pectin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 3 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
4. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Before rolling the dough out, let it sit on the counter to soften slightly (about 10 minutes). Roll 1 disk of dough into 12" circle on a lightly floured counter. Transfer to a parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Using a pastry wheel or paring knife, cut the round into ten 1 1/4"-wide strips. Freeze the strips on the sheet until firm for about 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 425F. Roll the other disk into a 12" circle on a floured workspace. Loosely roll the dough around the rolling pin and gently unroll it onto a 9" pie plate, letting the excess dough hang over the edge. Ease the dough onto the plate by lifting the edge of the dough with your hand while pressing into the bottom of the pie pan with your other hand. Leave any other dough that overhangs in place. Wrap the dough-lined plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until the dough is firm (about 30 minutes).
6. Meanwhile, transfer 1 cup of the peach mixture to a small bowl and mash with a fork until coarse paste forms. Drain the remaining peach mixture through a colander st in a large bowl. Transfer the peach juice to a measuring cup (you should have about 1/2 cup). Return the peach pieces to the bowl and toss with cornstarch. Transfer the peach juice to a 12" skillet, add the pectin mixture, and whisk until combined. cook over medium heat, add the peach pieces, and peach paste, and toss to combine.
7. Transfer the each mixture to the dough-lined plate. remove the strips from the freezer and let stand at room temperature until malleable. Lay the 2 longest strips across the center of the pie perpendicular to each other. Use the 4 shortest strips, lay 2 trips across the pay parallel to 1 center strip, and the other 2 strips parallel to the other center strip near the edges of the pie. Use the remaining 4 strips and lay each one across pie parallel and equidistant from the center and edge strips. This should form a nice criss-crossing pattern.
8. Trim the overhang to 1/2" beyond the lip of the pie plate. Press the edges of the bottom crust and the lattice strips together and fold under. Folded edge should end up flush with the pie plate. Crimp the dough evenly around the edge of the pie using your fingers. Use a spray bottle to mist the lattice with water and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
9. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until the crust is set and begins to brown. Rotate the pie and reduce the oven temperature to 375F and continue to bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly at the center (30 to 40 minutes). Let cool for 3 hours before serving.
10. Enjoy!

Creative Crumble Recipe: Peach and Pineapple Delight

We love apple crumble, but we've been wondering: what about other fruit crumbles? What would happen if we combined peaches and pineapples for our crumble? The result ended up being a wonderfully fresh, sweet combination we couldn't say no to!

The trick for this recipe was to use fresh fruits right from the grocery store. Because pineapples can be a little bit of a pain to core and cut, we bought the fresh sliced variety from the food store's produce aisle. The peaches we cut up ourselves. Some people would eat the crumble with ice cream, custard, or frozen yogurt but we found it tasted just as delicious without. Keep reading below for this heavenly recipe...

Peach Pineapple Crumble

(makes 6-8 servings)

Ingredients

• 2 cups diced fresh pineapple with 3 tablespoons juice reserved
• 3 cups diced peeled peaches
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Toss together the diced fruit in an 8" square baking dish. In a small dish, whisk together 3 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, and 1/4 cup flour. Toss that mixture along with the 3 tablespoons reserved pineapple juice with the diced fruit.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar. Add the cold butter cubes and use a fork or pastry cutter to break the cold butter into the flour mixture. Add the oatmeal and toss together.
3. Pour the oatmeal mixture over the prepared fruit. Place in the oven and bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until juices from the fruit bubble up around the sides of the pan.
4. Remove the crumble from the oven and let cool 15 minutes before serving. Garnish with custard or frozen yogurt.
5. Enjoy!

Dessert Classic: Peach Cobbler

Nothing beats the cinnamon-y smell of peach cobbler baking in the oven – and this recipe will fill your kitchen with the same lovely aroma. 

Everyone has different preferences when it comes to cobbler – some like a lot of topping, some only like a little; some like it super sweet, others not so much. The great thing about this recipe is that you can adjust it to meet your liking – if you love the biscuit-like topping, then double the ingredients for the topping.

How is a cobbler different from a crumble or pie? Well, a pie comes baked in a shell and a crumble typically calls on oatmeal. The cobbler sets itself apart by covering the top with a batter-like or biscuit-like crust, and this cobbler recipe works for tons of different fruits. Swap out peaches for blackberries, blueberries, or whatever fruit you’d like.

Served with vanilla ice cream, peach cobbler is the perfect summer treat.

Peach Cobbler

Ingredients:

For the filling:

• 8 fresh peaches (peeled, pitted, and sliced into chunks)
• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

For the topping:

• 1.5 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
• 1/4 cup boiling water

To sprinkle on top:

• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

 Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Peel the peaches with a knife or peeler, or drop the peaches one-by-one in boiling water for about a minute. Then, take each one out and put it into a bowl of ice water for about a minute. The skins should slide off pretty easily if the peaches are ripe.
3. In a large bowl, combine the first list of ingredients (peaches, white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, cornstarch). Toss everything together so the peaches are coated evenly, then put the mixture into a greased two-quart (8x8) baking dish and bake in the oven for ten minutes.
4. In another large bowl, combine some of the ingredients from the second list – flour, white sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Use your fingertips to blend the butter into the mixture – or use a pastry blender – until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Then, stir in the water until just combined.
5. Take the peaches out of the oven and drop spoonfuls of the topping over them. Sprinkle the entire cobbler with the sugar and cinnamon.
6. Bake the cobbler for about 30 minutes, or until the topping is golden.
7. Enjoy!

Dessert Recipe: Peach and Blackberry Galette

Sure, you’ve made pies and tarts, but have you made a galette? The beautiful presentation of this French pastry – defined loosely as any flat, round pastry cake – makes it even more appetizing, and the filling of fresh peaches and blackberries adds a pop of color along with tons of flavor. And if you’ve got raspberries instead, those would work well, too!

Peach and Blackberry Galette

Ingredients:

• 1 refrigerated pie crust, thawed
• 4 peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
• 1/2 cup blackberries
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water (to make an egg wash)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Red currants for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and then roll out the pie crust onto the parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, mix the peaches and vanilla. Then add the brown sugar, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour – mix well. Then, gently fold the blackberries into the mixture.
4. Pour the fruit mixture into the center of the crust, making sure to leave 2-3 inches of space around the border. Then, fold the edges of the dough over the fruit into a pleated pattern (like you see in the photo).
5. Brush the folded-over dough with the egg wash. Then, sprinkle the edges with sugar and dot the fruit with the butter pieces.
6. Bake for 1 hour, until the crust is golden-brown. Don’t be surprised if the juice from the fruit runs onto the baking sheet.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Garnish with red currants, if desired.
8. Enjoy!