Peach Crumble Pie

This past Saturday night our ward had their annual pie night. We didn't go this year because Brad was literally knee deep in dirt in our laundry room working on putting in a new laundry room floor. On Halloween Eve after working a 10 hour day I came home to this...uh oh!



YUP!...that is the outside view of my laundry room which has been completed gutted and we are in the process of re-building. YIKES!





Notice how dark it is and we STILL don't have a wall in...I was getting nervous




Thankfully our awesome neighbor Shane came over later that night to help Brad get the new wall put in.



Brad working on the floor...We still have a ways to go but thankfully I now have a make-shift plywood floor and can use my washer and dryer. I hate it while it's being done, but can't wait to see the finished result. It will be so nice! I am also extremely grateful to have such a hard working and talented husband who can and is willing to do all the work on our little old house. With Brad there is no such thing as my leg hurts, I'm tired, it's too hot, cold or wet, it's too heavy etc. He is a mans man and I am so grateful. No wimps in this house!

Back to the pie...Brad loves pie. We really could care less that we missed out on socialising with people in our ward, but Brad did miss the pie. On Sunday he turned to me with puppy dog eyes and said..."I want pie." So once we were home from church, everyone was fed lunch and Gabe was down for a nap...I got busy. With not much pie making fruit in the house, I decided to use the last two quarts of peaches I canned this summer (sniff sniff). The result...Nat's Peach Crumble Pie= one happy Nat AND one very happy and satisfied husband. Love you babe!!

I made two pies so if you are wanting to make just one you will need to half the amounts of crumb topping and peach filling. But since you are going to the effort of making one...go on and make another and take it to a friend or neighbor!


Peach Crumble Pie




Easy Pat-in-the-Pan Pie Dough
America's Test Kitchen
Makes one 9-inch pie shell

1 1/4 c unbleached all-purpose flour
2 T sugar
1/4 t salt
8 T (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
2 oz. cream cheese, softened but still cool

Lightly coat a 9-inch pie plate with vegetable oil spray.
Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.

Beat butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add flour mixture and beat on medium-low until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, about 20 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl and increase speed to medium-high until dough begins to form large clumps, about 30 seconds. Reserve 3 T of the dough and set aside.

Turn remaining dough out onto a lightly floured counter, gather into a ball, and flatten into a 6-inch disk. Transfer to pie plate and press the dough evenly over the bottom of the plate towards the sides, using the heel of your hand. With fingertips, work dough up the sides until evenly distributed.

Roll reserved 3 tablespoons into ropes, press onto edges of crust and form a fluted edge. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour. (I put mine in the freezer for 30 minutes)

Peach Filling

6 cups of roughly chopped canned peaches (reserve about 1/3 cup of the juice)
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 to 1/3 cup of the reserved peach juice depending on how juicy your peaches are
4 tbls spoons of lemon juice
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsps vanilla extract

Combine all ingrediants in a bowl and once combined pour into the prepared pie dish.

Crumb Topping
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
8 tsp cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
10 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter cut into chunks
1 large egg

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment stir together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. On low speed, add the butter chunks and beat until the mixture is very crumbly and the butter is cut in. You can do all this by hand if you prefer using your fingertips or a pastry blender to run the butter into the flour until the mixture is crumbly with the largest chunks about pea-sized. Add the egg on low speed (or use a fork) until the mixture is crumbly and combined and when squeezed just holds together.

Using your hands sprinkle the crumb topping on top of the pie mix squeezing some of the mixture to make larger crumbs.

Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes or until the pie is starting to look golden on top. ENJOY!

Peach Cinnamon Vanilla Crumb Bars

I know I've said it before but I love peach desserts and treats. I also love anything with a graham cracker crust or a crumb topping of some kind. There is just something about the oh so naughty butter, sugar, flour combination that gets me every time. When Holly over at phemomenon.blogspot.com posted this recipe, peaches were right in season and thanks to my in-laws peach tree I had an abudance of them in my home. I was so excited to try this recipe for two reasons. 1.- It had my favorite crumb and peach elements and 2.- Holly NEVER disapoints! =)

These were fantastic. Sadly I didn't get a picture of them because I had made them to take away on a family vacation with us. Last month we were lucky enough to spend a blissful week up in Park City at the Westgate resort with my Dad, his wife and the extended family. The Westgate Resort is one of my favorite places on earth and when I am there, I am in heaven. We ate, we swam, we shopped, we played, we visited and I enjoyed LONG LONG LONG european steam showers (twice a day). MMMMMMMMMM. Needless to say whilst there I wasn't so concerned with taking a picture of what I was eating as I was just getting down to business and eating it. So I pinched this picture from Holly's fabulous and famous food blog. Go check it out!!

This recipe was my first introduction to the cinnamon, vanilla, peach combination. All I can say is it is a match truly made in heaven!

Peach Cinnamon Vanilla Crumb Bars
phemomenon.blogspot.com




For the peach vanilla cinnamon filling:6 cups peeled, chopped fresh peaches (about 7 peaches)
1/2 cup sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons cornstarch (optional)

For the crust and crumbs:4 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 sticks (20 tablespoons or 1 1/4 cups) cold, unsalted butter cut into chunks
1 large egg

Make the peach filling first: In a large pan, stir together the chopped peaches, sugar, the vanilla bean seeds and the split bean pod, and the cinnamon. Stir well to combine and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat down and allow to simmer about 30 minutes until the juices have mostly thickened. You can stop at this point with a little juice, or if you like a thicker filling, stir in the cornstarch and simmer for 2 minutes more until the peach filling is thick. Remove the filling from the heat and allow to cool to about room temperature.

(Note: This peach filling is also wonderful in crepes or on pancakes or waffles.)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking pan and line it with a piece of parchment so that the parchment makes a sling in the pan with the edges hanging up and out the long sides of the pan. Crease the parchment into the bottom corner of the pan to help keep it in place. Spray the parchment lightly to make sure everything is well greased. Set the pan aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment stir together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. On low speed, add the butter chunks and beat until the mixture is very crumbly and the butter is cut in. You can do all this by hand if you prefer using your fingertips or a pastry blender to run the butter into the flour until the mixture is crumbly with the largest chunks about pea-sized. Add the egg on low speed (or use a fork) until the mixture is crumbly and combined and when squeezed just holds together.

Press about half of the dough mixture into the bottom of the greased pan evenly and pressing into the corners and edges (do not go up the sides of the pan).

Spread the mostly cooled peach filling evenly over the crust in the pan. Squeeze the remaining crumbs in the bowl lightly to just make bigger crumbs and chunks and scatter that crust over the peach filling.

Bake the bars for 40 to 45 minutes or until the top is light golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan. Use the parchment sling to remove the entire bar from the pan and onto a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut into squares or rectangles (makes about 24 to 30 bars depending on how big or small you cut them).

Peaches and Cream Trifle

My sister in law Liz celebrates her birthday in September. This year I told her I wanted to make her a special cake or dessert for her birthday when we got together for our monthly family dinner with the in-laws. I asked her what she wanted and she said either a fruity cake or something with chocolate or caramel. With such a broad range to work with my mind quickly got working on the perfect birthday treat for my beautiful sister. I had recently acquired some gorgeous flavorful peaches from my in-laws peach tree and so knew that they would be the perfect star for my creation. I love love love peaches and more than loving peaches, I love fresh off the tree peaches. I had a blast with this and the results were...even if I say so myself...FREAKING AWESOME!

Peaches and Cream Trifle
By Nat




For the cake:
Martha Stewart Classic Pound Cake
www.marthastewart.com

1 pound (3 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon coarse salt
4 sticks softened unsalted butter, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
9 large, room-temperature eggs

1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 5-by-9-inch loaf pans. Combine all-purpose flour and salt in a bowl.
2.Cream butter and sugar with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, for 8 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to medium, and add vanilla extract.
3.Lightly beat eggs, and add to mixer bowl in 4 additions, mixing thoroughly after each and scraping down sides. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in 4 additions, mixing until just incorporated. Divide batter between pans. Tap on counter to distribute; smooth tops.
4.Bake until a tester inserted into center of each cake comes out clean, about 65 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack.

For the first Peach Layer:
Approx 12 peaches peeled and cut into chunks
1/4 cup of sugar- more or less depending on the sweetness of your peaches
1 tbl spoon lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla

Place all of the ingredients except the vanilla in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Recuce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes. Off heat add the vanilla and stir. Set aside.

(NOTE) If this mixture seems overly liquidy (it should have some substance/body to it) you can thicken it with a little cornstarch and water paste.

For the second peach layer
Approx 6 peaches peeled and cut into moons for layering and garnish

For the Custard Layer:
1 cup of full fat milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp of vanilla essence
4 egg yolks
1 tbl spoon of cornflour
1/3 cup of white sugar

1. Combine milk and cream in a saucepan. Using a sharp knife, split the vanilla bean in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Add bean and seeds to the milk mixture, Place over medium heat. Cook, stiring constantly, for 5 or so minutes or until hot. (Do not allow the mixture to boil). Remove from heat.

2. Whisk egg yolks, corn flour and sugar in a heatproof bowl until well combined. Remove vanilla beans from milk mixture. Pour hot milk mixture over egg yolk mixture, whisking constantly.

3. Return mixture back to saucepan over low heat. Cook stiring constantly, for 15 to 20 minutes or until the custard thickens and coats the back of a metal spoon. Be sure not to let the custard boil.


For the cream layer:
2 cups of heavy whipping cream
3 tbls spoons of sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon juice
8 ounces of cream cheese softened

Using a hand mixer combine cream cheese, lemon juice and vanilla and blend until smooth. In a separate bowl whip cream and sugar together. Fold cream mixture into cream cheese mixture and set aside.

Now the fun begins. Start by spooning a small amount of the cooked peach mixture into the bottom of your trifle bowl so that when you place the first layer of cake into the trifle bowl it has something moist to sit on. Then slice approx half inch layers of the pound cake and layer them into the trifle bowl trying not to leave any large holes. Once you have your cake layer in place spoon some more of the cooked peach mixture over the cake. Follow with a thin spreading of custard. On top of the custard a thin layer of the cream mixture and then finish the layers with a layer of the freshly sliced peaches. Continue layering in this fashion ending with a topping of fresh peaches.

One of the things I like most about triffles is that they are not an exact science. You have all your various layers and you don't have to be stuffy about how you apply them. Ultimately what you are going for is a moist dessert filled with flavors which compliment each other. So if you like more custard...add more custard. If you like more fruit..add more fruit. Have fun with it!!!

YUMMMO!