I think I’m going to take my first shot at peach pie tomorrow. I’ve made pies before, but never peach - the first step will be a trip to the farmer’s market for some really good peaches, but other than that, any advice? Favorite recipes? Useful techniques/tips? Shortening crust or butter crust? What to use for thickener?
I’d be especially interested in recipes that are a little unusual - I saw one that involved ground ginger and cinnamon, and that sounded yummy.
No tips – but a selfless offer to come over and critique the results… 
[Nick Cage]
I could eat a peach (pie) all day.
[/NC]
I make a killer Southern Comfort Peach Pie. The basic model is top the peaches with a mixture of sugar, butter, slivered almonds, cinnamon, and allspice, then pouring a quarter cup Southern Comfort over the whole mess. Add top crust and bake. This works best as a deep dish pie.
I usually make my peach pie with a crumb topping:
1 c. unsifted all-purpose flour
1 t. cinnamon
1 c. dark brown sugar, packed
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter or low-fat margarine
Use a pastry cutter or large fork if you don’t have one and cut butter into ingredients them sprinkle on top.
One of the intended victims can’t eat nuts, so I might have to do a variation on this…also, I found some raspberries at the farmer’s market that looked amazing. How about a peach/raspberry pie, using brandy instead of Southern Comfort?
Mmmm…I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.
Also, anyone ever tried making a mango pie? The texture is similar to peaches, and I’ve substituted them successfully in jam recipes. How about a Mango Daiquiri Pie, with lime juice and rum?
I made this Pinwheel peach cobbler from Bon Appetit at father’s day, and my family enjoyed it. It has cinnamon and crystallized ginger in the pastry topping.
It’s sort of fussy, but was very good.
If I do it again, I think I’ll double the recipe for the pinwheel biscuit topping, and freeze half.
The eGullet Pastry Forum is on a pie binge. Have a look at the Pie crust thread for even more absurdly obssesive, well documented pie crust making than you can handle.
Lessee…
I use Betty Crocker’s recipe, including a home made crust. You HAVE to make your own crust. I use regular ol’ shortening.
To get the peach skins off, submerge them in rapidly boiling water for one minute. The skins will literally fall off.
Don’t cut them into thin slices. It’s not like apple pie. I had pretty good sized peaches, and pretty much cut each one into half inch slices. About 12 slices per peach.
Go easy on the sugar.
Add some pumpkin pie spice…not too much. Just enough to suggest some spice.
Don’t bake too long…35 minutes max. Peaches are already soft.
I bought some ginger flavored ice cream to serve with it…Yikes a wow-wow. D-licious.
I think that peaches and ginger are a match made in heaven.
I agree that the peaches shouldn’t be cut too thinly; they should be solid when the pie is cut. I also agree that you should go easy on the sugar. In fact, I add some lemon juice to cut the sweetness, and I think that it helps bring out the flavor.
Peaches work extremely well with berries; I’ve made peach/raspberry and peach/blackberry. I’ve read of peach/blueberry, but never tried it.
I tend to only use butter pie crusts. This is the method and recipe that I use.
Eeww! Don’t say Southern Comfort.
After a singularly unpleasant experience with that stuff when I was twenty, I can’t even smell it or even see the label without wanting to puke.
I’d never drink the stuff, but it is wonderful to cook with!
I think it’s going to be a variation on the nectarine/raspberry pie from Rose Beanbaum Levy’s The Pie and Pastry Bible. Currently the peaches have been skinned and macerated in sugar and lemon juice. They were then drained and the juices are reducing and caramelizing down to 1/2 cup, while the peach slices have been mixed with cornstarch and lemon zest.
I ran out of flour, so I have none to use to roll out the crust (which is part butter, part shortening) - have to run to the store, which luckily is only a block away. I’m debating how much to vary the recipe - it calls for the peaches with syrup to be poured into the crust, then the raspberries sprinkled over that, and then a tablespoon of kirsch sprinkled over that before laying the top crust over it. I think ginger would be overkill with the raspberries - I want the fruit to come through, because it’s really good fruit. But what about a touch of cinnamon? Or brandy instead of kirsch?