Life's Just Peachy-Keen Peach Pie

For those who know me, y'all know I have been baking up a storm for many, many years with a heavy focus on cakes and cookies. But for my FIRST baking blog post here, I want to jump right into my newest baking and learning obsession - PIES. Why did it take me so long to start tackling pies? That's a question I've certainly been asking myself recently. Is it the intimidation of making the pie dough - needing to find that perfect combination of sugar, butter, and flour that gives you a buttery and crumbly dough that can also withstand being rolled out and cut into strips and shapes to make your pie beautiful? Is it the overwhelming number of fillings you can plop inside? Or is it the extended baking time and the lack of knowledge if the pie is just right until you cut into it and know you've hit the trifecta of sweet and crisp and delicious? Whatever the prior obstacles were before, I am happy to report that they have been overcome, defeated, vanquished!

I do have to admit that my desire to finally turn to pies was inspired and spurred on by my exposure to and love of a recent Broadway show - Waitress! With music and lyrics written by Sara Bareilles [my favorite artist], I knew I had to get myself up to NYC to see the show as soon as possible! I've now had the pleasure of seeing the show TWICE and the second time with Sara Bareilles herself in the starring role as Jenna Hunterson. As you might have guessed, the main character, Jenna, is a waitress who specializes in making creative pies each day for the diner where she works. And at Waitress, they had a pie cookbook! Was there any question that I was going to purchase this cookbook and begin to make as many of her pies as quickly as I could? Nope, no question at all. 

Inspired by the Waitress pie cookbook to stir up a little sugar, butter, and flour

So without further ado, here is my take on the Waitress "Life's Just Peachy-Keen Polka Dot Peach Pie" sans the polka dots because I really wanted to try my hand at lattice weaving (I promise that a post on how to achieve a lovely lattice is on its way soon!).  

Step One: The Dough

 I have to admit that the mystery of forming a perfectly textured, buttery and flaky pie dough was one of the main things that intimidated me before making my first pie. Honestly, the art of creating a delicious homemade pie dough probably needs a post all by itself. (Who knew that this baking blogging thing would be so difficult / require so many layers?! Add to my "To Do" list - draft post on how to make pie dough.) Admission - one of the reasons pie dough intimidated me into being paralyzed is a memory of my sister and I attempting to make a pie many years ago and having quite the difficult time of it, when we were young and had not yet become wise in the ways of baking. After my successful (I am proud to say!) conquering of pie dough, I can now clearly see the mistakes we made. Hopefully you can help learn from my experiences!

The main mistake we made - we did not allow the dough enough, or perhaps ANY, time to chill after it was made. Apparently, the chilling of the dough after you have combined the butter, sugar, and flour is critical to ensure that all of the ingredients have time to get comfortable with one another and solidify. After you've made your dough (instructions coming here soon!), let chill in the fridge for AT LEAST three hours. It is even better if you can leave the dough to cill overnight.

When you are ready to make your pie, remove your dough from the fridge and split into two sections. Using your rolling pin, roll out one section of the dough on a lightly floured surface and fit into a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate. Pop the pie plate back into the fridge to chill while you are getting your filling ready to go.

Roll the second section of dough into a ball, re-wrap with Saran wrap, and place it back into the fridge. You will pull that section out when you are ready to create the design for the top of your pie and keeping it chilled in the interim will serve you best.

Now is also a good time to start reheating your oven at 350 degrees F.

Step Two: Prepare Your Filling

Slice your peaches into thin slices and stir together with the vanilla in a big bowl. Whisk together brown sugar, arrowroot starch (confession - I used cornstarch because it was what I had and it works just as well), allspice and salt, sprinkle over the peaches, and toss to coat. 

Step Three:  Assembly

Pull your chilled pie plate out of the fridge and pour in your fillings. Return the filled pie to the fridge. Now is when you grab that second section of dough. Roll this section out onto a lightly floured surface and using a knife, cut into strips at your desired thickness in width. For my pie, I cut the strips into approximately inch-wide strips. Lay the strips onto a cookie pan and place back into the fridge for approximately ten minutes. The trick for decorating with pie dough is to ensure that it is not too warm or too chilled - both conditions will make your pie strips very difficult to work with. After about ten minutes, pull your pie dough strips out and weave onto the top of your pie. Pinch off excess dough that is hanging over the edges of your pie and crimp the remaining dough around the top edges.

Step Four: Finishing Touches

After the decorating dough on the top of the pie is in place, brush the dough with an egg wash (which is just one egg, beaten well with two tablespoons of heavy cream) and then sprinkle coarse sugar on top. I used gold decorating sugar because I'm apparently #extra and #basic. (I have no regrets.)

Step Five: Bake Until Golden and Bubbling

Place your pie on a rimmed baking sheet.Bake in the center of the oven for approximately 70 minutes, or until the crust is a deep brown and you see the filling bubbling through the openings in the top of the dough. My pie ended up being in the oven for around 90 minutes - I waited until the filling was noticeably bubbly before pulling it out. 

Pro tip - I put my baking sheet into the oven while it was preheating so that it was already hot when I place the pie into the oven on it. From my research, this can help your bottom dough back faster and thereby hopefully firm up before your fruit gets too juicy and makes it soggy. Again, this was my first pie, but I think this technique did help keep the bottom of the dough from being soggy!

Place your baked pie onto a cooling rack to cool. Allow to come to room temperature before cutting / serving. I actually let my pie cool until the next day before serving and I loved how it held together.

Step Six:  Enjoy A Slice With Some Freshly Whipped Cream

Y'all, I don't want to toot my own horn - but do you SEE that lovely slice of peach pie? The dough was flaky and buttery, the peaches were sweet, and the whole thing held together like a dream. I definitely recommend letting it cool fully before serving. Another admission - after we dished it out, my mother, friend, and I each had two slices. So I am calling this one a win!

Before we dug in, I threw together some homemade whipped cream to go on top. To make whipped cream, pour heavy whipping cream into your mixer with a few tablespoons of sugar, and whipped the cream until peaks begin the form. Whip until your desired level of stiffness, then spoon a dollop or two on top of your pie. Then ENJOY.

If you've read this far, then you have made it all of the way through my first baking blog post and, for that, I am truly honored! I hope you enjoyed walking with me as I described making my first pie and look forward to sharing more with you soon!

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"Life's Just Peachy-Keen Polka-Dot Peach Pie" from The Waitress Pie Book

Ingredients

• Dough for a classic double-crust pie shell (coming soon!)

Filling

• 6 ripe peaches, peeled*, pitted, and thinly sliced (4 cups) - *I did not peel my peaches!
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup arrowroot starch
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Egg Wash

• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream

Finishing Touches

• 2 tablespoons coarse sugar for top of pie

Homemade Whipped Cream

• 1 cup cold heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Directions

1. For the pie shell: Roll out one disk of dough on a lightly floured surface and fit into a 9 1/2 inch deep-dish pie plate. Chill for at least 30 minutes, or until firm.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a rimmed baking sheet in the oven to be heating up with the oven.
3. For the filling: Stir together the peaches and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, arrowroot, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Sprinkle over the peaches and toss to coat. 
4. Pour the filling into the pie shell. 
5. Roll out the second disk of dough and decorate the top of the pie. If you are covering the top completely with dough, make sure to perforate the dough in the center so that steam has somewhere to escape during baking.
6. Make an egg wash by whisking together the egg and cream in a small bowl.
7. Place pie on the heated baking sheet from the oven. Gently brush the pastry with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
8. Bake in the center of the oven for 70 minutes, or until the crust is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Place the baking sheet and pie on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
9. Combine heavy whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla in mixer. Using your whisk attachment, beat until the cream starts to form peaks that hold their shape. Spoon onto your slice of pie and enjoy!