Bon Appetit Desserts (64 page)

¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

¼ cup unbleached all purpose flour

1½ teaspoons fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground cardamom

3¾ to 4 pounds ripe peaches

2 tablespoons (¼ stick) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 egg, beaten to blend

CRUST:
Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and lard; using on/off turns, cut in until fat is reduced to pea-size pieces, about 25 turns. Using on/off turns, blend in ¾ cup buttermilk until dough just comes together in moist clumps, adding more buttermilk by tablespoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball; divide into 2 pieces, 1 slightly larger than the other. Flatten each into disk. Wrap separately in plastic and chill at least 1 hour.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

FILLING:
Mix ¾ cup sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, and cardamom in large bowl. Bring large pot of water to boil. Add peaches to boiling water for 30 seconds. Using slotted spoon, transfer peaches to bowl of cold water; cool. Peel, halve, and pit peaches. Slice peaches into bowl with sugar mixture; toss to coat. Let filling stand until juices form, stirring often, about 20 minutes.

Place 1 rack in center and 1 rack at lowest position in oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out larger dough disk on floured surface to 12- to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim overhang to ¾ inch. Mound filling in crust; dot with butter. Roll out smaller dough disk on floured surface to 12-inch round. Gently roll up dough onto rolling pin and unroll, draping over filling. Pinch together overhang of bottom crust and edge of top crust. Fold edge under and crimp decoratively. Cut several slits in top crust to allow steam to escape during baking. Brush crust with beaten egg; sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

Place pie on center rack in oven. Place baking sheet on lowest oven rack to catch any drippings. Bake pie until crust is golden brown and juices bubble thickly through slits, covering very loosely with foil if crust browns too quickly, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool pie on rack at least 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Peach Pie with Pecan Crumb Topping

This is summer’s perfect pie, with a not-too-sweet filling, a tender flaky crust, and a crunchy nut topping. The peaches can be peeled by either using a very sharp serrated peeler, available online and at cookware stores, or plunging the peaches into boiling water for 30 seconds before cooling and slipping the skins off.
8 servings

1¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ cup (½ stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes ¼ cup non-hydrogenated solid vegetable shortening or lard, frozen, cut into ½-inch pieces

3 tablespoons (or more) ice water

6 large ripe peaches (about 2½ pounds total), peeled, pitted, cut into ¾-inch-thick slices

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ cup unbleached all purpose flour

⅓ cup (packed) golden brown sugar

½ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 cup pecan pieces

¾ cup old-fashioned oats

CRUST:
Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Using fork, stir in 3 tablespoons ice water, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry, and pressing dough together with fingertips until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic and chill at least 30 minutes.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

FILLING:
Toss peach slices, sugar, tapioca, and cinnamon in large bowl to coat. Let stand 15 minutes, tossing occasionally.

TOPPING:
Meanwhile, blend flour, brown sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter; using on/off turns, process until mixture resembles fine moist clumps. Add pecans and oats. Using on/off turns, blend until nuts are chopped.

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Roll out dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. If necessary, trim overhang to ¾ inch. Fold overhang under and crimp edge decoratively. Spoon filling into crust. Sprinkle pecan topping evenly over peaches. Bake pie 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Continue to bake until topping is brown, juices bubble thickly, and peaches are tender when pierced with small sharp knife, about 1 hour longer. Cool pie on rack 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Peach and Blackberry Pie

There is just enough flour in the fruit filling to thicken the juices slightly. If you prefer a thicker pie filling, go ahead and add another tablespoon of flour to the fruit. Nectarines make good substitutes for the peaches, with the added benefit that they don’t need to be peeled.
8 servings

1½ pounds ripe peaches (about 6 small)

3 cups fresh blackberries

⅔ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

3 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour

2 Best-Ever Pie Crust dough disks (see recipe)

Heavy whipping cream

Vanilla ice cream

Bring large saucepan of water to boil. Drop peaches into water; cook 30 seconds. Remove with slotted spoon. Rinse peaches under cold water to cool. Slip skins off peaches, then halve, pit, and slice (yielding 3¾ to 4 cups).

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 400°F. Mix peaches, blackberries, ⅔ cup sugar, and flour in large bowl; toss to blend.

Roll out 1 dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim dough overhang to ½ inch. Spoon peach filling into crust. Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 12-inch round; drape over filling. Trim dough overhang to 1½ inches. Fold edges of top and bottom crusts under, pressing to seal. Crimp edges decoratively. Brush pie with cream and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Cut one 2-inch X in center of top crust to allow steam to escape during baking. Bake until crust is golden brown, peaches are tender when pierced with small sharp knife, and juices bubble thickly through X in crust, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool pie on rack at least 1 hour.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

Best-Ever Pie Crust

Use this pie crust for any single-crust, double-crust, or lattice-top pie. Butter gives the crust a wonderful flavor; shortening makes it tender.
Makes 2 dough disks (enough for 1 double-crust pie or 1 lattice-top pie)

2½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

1½ teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

½ cup non-hydrogenated solid vegetable shortening or lard, frozen, cut into ½-inch pieces

5 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Mix in 5 tablespoons ice water, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls, if needed, until moist clumps form. Gather dough into ball; divide in half. Flatten each half into disk. Wrap separately in plastic and chill at least 20 minutes.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made ahead and chilled up to 1 day or frozen up to 1 month. If frozen, thaw overnight in refrigerator

Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

Old-Fashioned Blueberry-Maple Pie

This is blueberry pie the way it’s meant to be: pure, simple, and utterly delicious. Be sure to place a baking sheet in the bottom of the oven before putting the pie in to bake. The sheet will catch any juices that bubble out of the crust.
8 servings

2¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour

3 tablespoons sugar

1½ teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons chilled non-hydrogenated solid vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch pieces

3 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

6 tablespoons (or more) ice water

4 cups fresh blueberries

1 cup pure maple syrup

¼ cup unbleached all purpose flour

¼ cup quick-cooking tapioca

4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

CRUST:
Blend flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in processor. Add shortening and butter; using on/off turns, cut in until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix in 6 tablespoons ice water, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls, if needed, until moist clumps form. Gather dough together; divide into 2 pieces, 1 slightly larger than the other. Flatten each into disk. Wrap disks separately in plastic and chill 1 hour.

DO AHEAD:
Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Let soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.