Peach and Cherry Pie

Spring break went by WAY too fast! Despite everything being closed down due to COVID-19, our family managed to make the most beautiful memories at home together. Playing in the backyard, down in the play room, reading books, baking, and just being together. For our last dinner before Greg went back to work (even though his classroom now is just ten steps downstairs...) I wanted to make a special meal. Bring out the roast beef, mashed potatoes, yorkshire puddings, and.... PIE! I have memories of my Nana making apple pie every time we visited her in the Okanagan and she would always have these beautiful flowers or leaf cutouts on top of her pie. I tried to replicate, for sentimentality. Now, I've never made a pie on my own before so there are some tweaks I would make for next time, but here is the recipe I followed:

Ingredients For the pie crust:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup unsalted butter cold and cut into cubes

• 1/2 cup buttermilk cold

• 1-2 tablespoons water cold

• 1 large egg beaten, for the egg wash

• Turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top of pie

For the peach filling:

• 8 cups sliced peaches skin removed (I did 4 cups peaches and 4 cups halved cherries)

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 3-4 tablespoons cornstarch depending on how juicy your peaches are (I definitely could have used more cornstarch!)

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Add the cubed butter and toss to coat. Dump the mixture out onto a clean surface and use a rolling pin to roll the butter into thin sheets, combining it with the flour. Use a bench scraper to scrape the rolling pin and to bring the mixture back into a pile as necessary. Continue until all of the butter is incorporated into the flour. Mixture will be very flaky. Return mixture to the bowl and place in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill the butter.

1. Remove from freezer and add the buttermilk. Use a spoon and then your hands to stir the mixture until it comes together into a ball. If mixture is too dry, add the water a tablespoon at a time. Divide the dough in two and flatten into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

2. While the dough is chilling, make the peach pie filling. In a large bowl, combine peaches, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cornstarch, and vanilla extract. Gently stir until mixed well.

3. When ready to roll out, let the dough rest at room temperature for five minutes. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a rough 13 inch circle. Dough should be about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer dough to pie dish. Fill pie with peach filling. Repeat with the second disk of dough. Cut dough and make a lattice over the filling. You can also leave the circle intact and cover the filling completely, cutting a few vents with a sharp knife, but I went with a lattice top for my peach pie.

4. Fold the edges of the top and bottom crusts together and use your index fingers and thumb to pinch into a pattern. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.

5. Bake in a 400 degrees F oven for 45 minutes or until the pie is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. *The top of the pie got a little too well down while the pastry at the bottom was not quite cooked enough, so cover with foil for even cooking. Remove foil after 20-25 minutes of baking time.*

6. Let the pie cool completely on a wire cooling rack before cutting.

7. Note-you can use this same pie crust to make apple pie, berry pie, strawberry rhubarb pie, etc. Use your favorite filling!