Peach Season

A couple of weeks when I walked into the grocery store I was greeted by the sweet aroma of fresh peaches.  I carefully selected the very best peaches out of the bin as I day dreamed about how delicious they would taste in my juicy peach pie.  I brought my peaches home and started on my pie that same afternoon.  I finished putting the lattice crust on the top just as my husband walked in the door from work and he was equally excited about the pie.  Unfortunately, I had run out of time and I didn't have time to bake my pie before we had to head out the door again.

With much reluctance, I wrapped the pie in plastic wrap and then in foil before putting it in my freezer.  (That was torture to my poor husband, by the way.)  We have both been thinking about that pie ever since it went into the freezer.  I am happy to report that this was the weekend that we finally baked the pie.  We invited some friends to come over and share it with us which made the pie even that much sweeter.

Peach Pie
basic pie pastry for a double crust
6 cups fresh peaches
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of nutmeg
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Preheat the oven to 425.  Roll out bottom crust and lay it in a 9” pie pan.  Roll out pastry for the top crust and cut into 3/4” strips.  Place the peaches in a large bowl.  Stir together flour, sugar, salt and nutmeg.  Add to the peaches and toss to coat.  Pile fruit into pie dish.   Top with bits of butter.  Use the pastry strips to  make a lattice top.  Bake for 25 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 350 and bake another 25 minutes.  Let cool and cut into wedges before serving. 

Pies are the perfect make ahead dessert because they freeze really well.  When I make fruit pies, I wrap and freeze them before they're baked.  I defrost them in the refrigerator for 24 hours before I put them in the oven.  This is my peach pie as soon as I took it out of the freezer.

This is what my pie looked like when it came out of the oven.

The pie lived up to all of my expectations.  After weeks of dreaming about this frozen pie, I am pleased to tell you that it was just as good as I had imagined.   Georgia peaches at their finest. 

Bon Appetit!