My Grandmother and Mother made some of the best pies I can remember. Of course, they would use lard, and maybe that’s why I can’t make a pie as good as theirs. But I’ll still keep trying and maybe have to switch to lard to see what a difference it can make. Until then, I’ll stick with butter. The double-crust peach pie with blueberries and almond is probably the best I have had.
I put this recipe together the other day after I purchased a bag of peaches at the farmer’s market (I couldn’t resist; they smelled so good). It combines all of my favorite flavors in a delicious dessert any day of the week.
For the pie crust, you’ll need:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 6 to 8 tablespoons of very cold water
To make the Pie crust:
- Place the flour in a large bowl. You can do this in a stand mixer or a food processor. I like to do it the old fashioned way.
- Cut the butter into chunks and place in the bowl with the flour.
- Add 1/2 tsp salt and 2 tsp. sugar
- Using a pastry cutter, cut butter into the flour until you end up with flour-coated butter chunks that are pea-sized
- Start adding a few tablespoons of ice-cold water to the flour/butter, cutting it in, adding more water until you have a dough ball form.
- Cut the dough in half, one for the top and bottom crust.
- Flour a flat surface so the dough doesn’t stick, and start to roll the dough, flipping and adding four as needed until you get about a 10 to 11-inch round dough. Repeat for the other half of the dough.
- Fold the dough in half and place in a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie tin or dish. Unfold the dough and form the top edge to the dish’s rim, allowing a little extra around the edge. You can trim later when you place the top on the pie.
For the pie filling, you’ll need:
- 5 to 6 ripe but firm, fresh peaches
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 cup (or more if you like) sliced almonds
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 beaten egg (for egg wash on top dough)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon sliced almonds
Here’s how to put the filling together:
- First, peel and thinly slice (about 1/4 inch) the peaches and place in a large bowl
- Next, add the blueberries, lemon juice, and extract to the peaches and mix them.
- In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Add the dry ingredients to the peaches/blueberries, stirring until well coated.
- Add 1/4 cup of sliced almonds and stir.
- Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell, humping up in the center as the filling will settle.
- Slice chunks of the butter and spot over the top of the filling
- Place the top dough over the filling making sure the dough hangs over the edge of the dish.
- Make sure you seal the edges of the crust. I use a fork and press both crusts together all the way around. You can then trim any excess dough.
- Cut 3 to 4 slits in the top piece of dough for steam to escape.
- Brush the dough with the egg wash
- Sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar and top with 1 tablespoon of almonds
Time to bake:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- I like to place the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet, just in case it overflows.
- I also take strips of foil and place them over the crust’s edges so they don’t burn. You can remove the foil for the last 15 minutes of baking.
- Bake for about 35 to 45 minutes or until the filling starts to bubble out of the slits.
- Remember to take off the foil from the crust edges about 15 minutes before it is done.
- Let the pie rest and cool before cutting.
You can freeze the pie if you’re not able to bake it right away.
Serve warm with your favorite vanilla ice cream and enjoy!
Other baking recipes you may like.
