Real summer begins for me when the peaches are ripe and juicy. I guess because I grew up with a couple of peach trees and as a kid the wait for the peaches ripening on the tree seemed to take forever. Then the magic would happen and the peaches were pronounced ripe enough for picking. Jars of jam would follow when the whole tree’s bounty was ripe, but the first peaches were destined for pie. If you live in an area where peaches grow, I suggest searching a farmer’s market in late June for this heralding of summer beginning.
FOR THE CRUST:
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Use your favorite - I use a version of Julia Child’s pie crust recipe - see my jam crostata for my version. A good store bought pie dough is fine as well
PEACH FILLING:
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6 cups peeled and sliced fresh peaches
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Juice of one lemon
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1/2 cup Bonnie’s Peach Ginger jam
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4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
TO ASSEMBLE:
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2 tablespoons unsalted butter diced into small cubes
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1 egg with 1 teaspoon of water beaten
Directions
THE PEACH FILLING:
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In a bowl, mix the peaches, lemon juice, jam, butter cubes, salt, nutmeg. Add the flour and toss together until peaches are well coated.
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Mix egg with water and set aside
ASSEMBLY:
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
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Roll out half of the pie dough and place the second in the fridge to keep cold. Add rolled out pie dough to the bottom of your pie plate.
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Fill pie dough with peach filling.
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Dot top of peach filling with the diced butter.
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Roll out remaining dough and add to the top of the peach filling in a full sheet, in a lattice design or in another decorative design of your choosing.
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Brush top of pie crush with egg and water mixture
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Bake for 35-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and the peaches are cooked through and soft
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Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (optional)
