Peach Apple Pie

One day in late August my dad brought home a big bag of fresh peaches with a request for homemade peach pie. I was happy to oblige, but unfortunately by the time I got around to making the pie a couple of days later, a few peaches had already disappeared (okay I confess I ate one, but my three siblings aren't innocent either!). At that point I didn't have enough peaches to make a whole pie, so this peach apple pie is what I came up with. The slightly tart and crunchy apples compliment the sweet and juicy peaches perfectly. The apples I used were from my family's own apple tree in our front yard, which went absolutely crazy with fruit this summer. Keep in mind that peaches will only be in season for a very short while longer so hurry and make this pie while you still can!

Ingredients:

Pastry for double crust pie - Use my perfect pie crust recipe here

4 large, very ripe peaches

3-4 small apples

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

1 Tbsp. milk or cream

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out the pastry for your bottom pie crust and place in a 9" pie pan. Set aside.

Remove the peel from the peaches using a vegetable peeler or paring knife, being careful to just remove the peel and not too much of the fruit. Halve, pit, and slice the peaches. Peel, core, and slice the apples. In total, you should have about 6 cups of fruit.

Place the sliced peaches and apples in a large bowl with the lemon juice. In a small bowl combine the white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and corn starch, then stir into the bowl of fruit until evenly combined.

Pour the filling into the prepared bottom pie crust. Roll out the pastry dough for the top pie crust and cut some decorative vents into it (the little slits in the centre of the top pie crust). Place over the pie. Trim the outer edges of pie crust until there is a 1-2" overhang of crust from the pie plate. Flute or crimp the outer edges between your thumb and two fingers, or using the heel of a butter knife. 

Brush the top of the pie with the milk or cream, using a pastry brush. Sprinkle evenly with brown sugar.

Bake the pie on the middle rack for about 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until the crust is just beginning to brown. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and bake the pie for another 30-40 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the crust is a nice golden brown. If the top of the pie or outer crust begins to brown too quickly, then cover it with a circle of aluminum foil for the remaining baking time.

Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool for 2-4 hours before serving. This gives the filling a chance to set. You could eat it immediately out of the oven but keep in mind it will be very runny still. Store leftover pie covered, at room temperature or in the refrigerator. It is excellent served cold as well!

*Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen