"Georgia Peach" Peaches and Cream Pie

Aerial View of Summertime

White peaches are one of my all-time favorite fruits. I love the way the juice runs down your hands when you bite into a good peach, how the skin falls right off when you blanch them, how they perfume your entire kitchen when you leave them to ripen on the counter top (I have a very small kitchen, mind you). 

But it's hard to find a good white peach in California. They are few and far between. Too many times, they are picked before they are ready and shipped over on giant trucks, either bruised or eternally unripened. So when I found some at the local farmer's market that I could smell from a few feet away, I knew it was time for a peach pie. 

And not just any old peach pie, but a traditional peaches and cream pie, which tastes pretty much exactly like peach ice cream, except it warms your mouth and the fruit almost melts on your tongue. Then the crust adds a contrasting crunchiness that will have you coming back for seconds. Or, in my case, for breakfast, since I've been eating this one before work for two days in a row.

It's also a very simple recipe. So go ahead and try it. You've got nothing to lose and everything to gain (literally, you might gain a few pounds after eating the entire pie to yourself, so share it please). 

Pretty crust, sculpted by my talented roommate, Maria, and my wonderful friend, Marie

This recipe also taught me how to blanch a peach, which I highly recommend you do in order to remove the peach skin. It has never been appealing to me to leave the skin on any fruit in a pie, and if you try to remove it with a peeler, you'll lose way too much of the peach-meat. Trust me. 

My roommate made little musical notes with leftover crust (look sideways, you'll see it)

Peaches and Cream Pie 

Recipe Adapted from Nathalie Dupree's New Southern Cooking

PRINT THIS AS A RECIPE CARD!

Ingredients

one 9" pie shell (I used a butter-shortening crust with 1 added tbsp sugar)

4 peaches, skinned and sliced 

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup heavy cream

OPTIONAL: A generous sprinkling of brown sugar

OPTIONAL: Butter and egg for a butter-egg wash

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease a 9" pie pan. Roll out the pie crust and line the pan with it. 

2. Mix together the flour and sugar. Pour 1/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the crust. 

3. Place the peaches into the crust. Add as many or as little as you want, but I like myself a really, really peachy pie. 

4. Pour the rest of the sugar-flour mixture over the peaches. Pour the heavy cream over everything. Stir the peaches around so they are completely covered in cream. They can be above the cream, but you want them all to have a chance to have a taste of it!

5. OPTIONAL STEP: Sprinkle a generous helping (about 1 tbsp) of brown sugar over the top. Alternatively, you can do this halfway through baking. Cover the crust with an egg wash and butter. 

6. Bake for 50-70 minutes, or until the middle is just set. You'll know it's not ready if you jiggle it, and the middle shakes. If the crust gets too brown, cover it with a ring of foil. Serve hot or cool.

NOTE: If you're not happy with your peaches, add in a nectarine or two instead. You want the brightest, juiciest fruit for this. 

This is what the pie looked like after I took a slice for breakfast yesterday morning. Then I ate said slice while watching the sun rise over San Francisco. Not too shabby. I love my city. I love my pie.