Mom’s Peach Pie
Mom’s Peach Pie is awesome. It was really Grandma’s Peach Pie recipe, and probably her mother’s before that. Oh, did they ever know how to make pies! Mom’s pies were second only to Grandma’s. Mom’s basic fruit pie recipe was simple–four to five cups of fresh fruit, a cup of sugar, 3 heaping tablespoons of flour and 3 tbsp. butter. That was it. What set Mom’s pies apart was the marvelous, flaky crust.
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Mom would make pies every week. She worked the shortening into the flour with her fingers (a superior way) and could have a crust whipped out in five minutes. No kidding. Mom was fast. She would have two pies oven ready in about 20 minutes. Five minutes for each crust and five minutes paring up the different fruits and adding the other ingredients.
It wasn’t until after I moved away from home and started having kids that I finally pinned Mom down one time when we were visiting and asked her to show me how to make pies. I made her measure it out after she dumped ingredients into her mixing bowl and then learned how to work the pie crust with my hands.
I still don’t know how she could do it so fast. I can’t work shortening into the flour in anything less than ten to fifteen minutes. Quite frankly, I really prefer using a pastry blender and not because I’m afraid to get my hands messy.
Mom always made homemade pies for us when we would come over to visit about six to eight times a year on holiday weekends. My oldest son loved her Peach Pie so she made it for him a lot when he was younger. My youngest loved her Custard Pie, so that was on the menu too. She made all the berry pies for me as well as the chocolate and lemon pies. Oh, my. I could never get enough of Mom’s pies growing up and even into adulthood. We would clean out two pies in a day and she would usually end up making two or three more for us while we were there for those short visits.
Mom grew up on a farm in Southeastern Ohio with a lot of fruit trees on the property, as well as lots of wild berry bushes nearby. So she grew up making lots of fruit pies when she was a young girl. I’m really glad I had her pass on the skill to me because pie baking really is an art.
To get nice, flaky pie crusts you can’t overwork the dough – that’s why using your fingers to work the shortening or butter into the flour is still the best method. Mom also used baking powder. I’m convinced that’s part of the reason her pie crusts are so good. I don’t think I’ve seen baking powder in ANY pie crust recipes ever. It makes a difference as far as I’m concerned. While I’ve made other Peach Pie recipes, there’s nothing quite like Mom’s Peach Pie.
Mom grew up making her pie crusts with lard or butter, but somewhere in the 1930s or 1940s she switched over to Crisco shortening because it was available when butter wasn’t. So I grew up making it with shortening. Although I have to admit I’d like to switch out to butter, coconut oil or even back to lard at some point and get away from hydrogenated oil.
It has been years since I’ve made pies, let alone Peach Pie. I stopped making them about five years ago when I started trying to eat a lot healthier. But when we had a pretty sizable crop of peaches this year from our back yard, I relented and decided to get back to pie baking again.
Mom’s Peach Pie doesn’t use cinnamon as a flavoring, yet you will find this pie the most delectable Peach Pie you’ve ever eaten. Oh, my, did this pie ever turn out heavenly. I’m glad I made it for company, otherwise, I would have eaten the whole thing myself. I love Mom’s Peach Pie. I think you will, too!
One of the secrets to Mom’s pies was to bake them at a low temperature – 300 degrees. Pies aren’t done until the juices bubble up thickly to the top of the pie through the lattice crust. If you take them out prematurely, the pies will be soupy when you cut into them. Sometimes pies would take two to three hours to bake through. Pies that are baked at higher temperatures tend to have crusts that brown too much, yet the inside usually won’t be cooked enough.
If you want the best Homemade Pie Crust then give Mom’s recipe a try, too. Put the two together and you will have one of the best desserts you will ever eat. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and you will be in seventh heaven. Don’t be intimidated about making Homemade Pie Crust. Practice really does make perfect. Keep at it and pretty soon you’ll be making pies just as wonderful as Mom’s!
Mom’s Peach Pie is one of the most awesome pies you will ever eat!
Each bite of Mom’s Peach Pie is mouthwatering.
There’s nothing quite like homemade pie from scratch.
Here’s what I did.
I used these ingredients for the peach pie filling.
Place peaches in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar and UNBLEACHED flour. Bleached flour toughens baked goods.
Stir ingredients to combine. Allow peaches to sit out while rolling out crust.
Make up a batch of Homemade Pie Crust. After rolling out bottom crust, place dough in pie shell and flute edges. Dot pie with butter. Roll out pie crust for top crust. Using a pastry wheel cut dough into strips.
Don’t fill the pie shell until the top crust is ready and you’ve cut the pasty in strips with a pastry wheel. Otherwise if the peach juices sit in the pie shell too long, the bottom crust will get soggy. Add peach mixture.
Layer pieces of pie dough strips in one direction.
Now lay strips in opposite direction. This is not a woven lattice crust. This is the way Mom always used to top her pies.
Bake pie two to three hours at 300. The juices from the peaches will bubble up and look thick when the pie is done.
Here’s an interior view of the pie. It’s not soupy because I cooked it for a couple of hours and waited until the peach filling thickened as it bubbled up to the top of the pie.
Doesn’t Mom’s Peach Pie look wonderful?
We love Mom’s Peach Pie and believe you will too!
Here’s the recipe.
MOM’S PEACH PIE
(Recipe adapted from my Mom, Helen Mattis, Titusville, FL)
Mom's Peach Pie
Equipment
- 1 10-inch deep pie dish
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 sharp knife to cut and pare peaches
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 5 cups peaches peeled and sliced
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour bleached flour toughens baked goods
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 recipe for a double-crust plain pastry
Instructions
- Peel and slice peaches.
- Add granulated sugar and flour and stir to combine.
- This will prevent the peaches from discoloration and allow syrup to form.
- Set aside.
- Roll out pie crust and place in 10-inch deep dish pie plate.
- Place small dabs of the butter in the bottom of the crust.
- Roll out remaining crust and cut into strips for a lattice crust.
- Once the top crust is ready, add the peaches to the crust and butter.
- Do your best to spread the sugar-syrup mixture from the peaches over the entire pie.
- Place cut strips of dough over top of peaches to form a lattice crust.
- Bake at 300° about 1 ½ to 2 hours or until juices have thickened and bubbled up to the top of the pie.
Notes
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
Nutrition
- 5 cups peeled, sliced peaches
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour (bleached flour toughens baked goods)
- 3 tbsp. butter
- recipe for a [url href=”http://cantstayoutofthekitchen.com/2012/12/05/homemade-pie-crust/” target=”_blank” title=”homemade pie crust”]double-crust plain pastry[/url]
- Peel and slice peaches.
- Add sugar and flour and stir to combine.
- This will prevent the peaches from discoloration and allow syrup to form.
- Set aside.
- Roll out pie crust and place in 10-inch deep dish pie plate.
- Place small dabs of the butter in the bottom of the crust.
- Roll out remaining crust and cut into strips for a lattice crust.
- Once the top crust is ready, add the peaches to the crust and butter.
- Do your best to spread the sugar-syrup mixture from the peaches over the entire pie.
- Place cut strips of dough over top of peaches to form a lattice crust.
- Bake at 300° about 1 ½ to 2 hours or until juices have thickened and bubbled up to the top of the pie.
This was a great way to use up our abundance of peaches this year.
Mom used to bake this pie for my oldest son every time we came to visit because it was his favorite dessert.
If you enjoy peaches, you will love Mom’s Peach Pie recipe!
You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!
Mom’s Peach Pie
Equipment
- 1 10-inch deep pie dish
- 1 large mixing bowl
- 1 sharp knife to cut and pare peaches
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 5 cups peaches peeled and sliced
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour bleached flour toughens baked goods
- 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 recipe for a double-crust plain pastry
Instructions
- Peel and slice peaches.
- Add granulated sugar and flour and stir to combine.
- This will prevent the peaches from discoloration and allow syrup to form.
- Set aside.
- Roll out pie crust and place in 10-inch deep dish pie plate.
- Place small dabs of the butter in the bottom of the crust.
- Roll out remaining crust and cut into strips for a lattice crust.
- Once the top crust is ready, add the peaches to the crust and butter.
- Do your best to spread the sugar-syrup mixture from the peaches over the entire pie.
- Place cut strips of dough over top of peaches to form a lattice crust.
- Bake at 300° about 1 ½ to 2 hours or until juices have thickened and bubbled up to the top of the pie.