Peach Blueberry Pie #32

I'm not sure what happened to this pie. I tried, people. I tried. But clearly I didn't try hard enough.

I've been looking forward to this pie since I started this experiment and it really didn't work out. It was one of the soupiest pies that we've had. The day we made this pie (and I mean "we" because I enlisted Ryan's help and we also had an audience--consisting of several of my nieces and nephews--who was watching our every move and sneaking pie dough when our backs were turned), we also made at least 4 other pies.

There was a small army of family flocking to my parent's house for dessert that night and we wanted to provide.

Luckily all the pies worked out well. This one, however, was not worth the sweet Utah peaches that we put into it. The taste wasn't awful, but no one (besides me, of course) even wanted to try it because it looked like a peach soup with pie crust croutons.

Not exactly how I wanted to show off for my family 2,000 miles away.

But then again, I'm happy for the learning experience.

Any way, I'm guessing that somehow we overlooked the thickener, or the recipe didn't call for enough, or maybe we cooked the peaches too long? I don't know. I'm still working on a solution and luckily peaches are still in season, so this is not the last time I'll visit this subject.

However, if you try this recipe, know that the crust is awesome and the taste is great too--just make sure you put that cornstarch in (and maybe a spoonful of flour as well...just for good measure).

Peach Blueberry Pie
(Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence)

Pastry:
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rollingFilling:
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, zested and finely grated
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons ice water, plus more if needed


2 pounds peaches, pitted and sliced
1 pint blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter, cut into bits
1 egg, beaten with a drizzle of water

DIRECTIONS:
For pastry--Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and mix with a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk and ice water and work that in with your hands. (Or do the whole thing in a food processor, pulsing a couple of times to combine the dry ingredients, then pulsing in the butter, and then the egg.)

Check the consistency of the dough by squeezing a small amount together between thumb and forefingers: You want there to be just enough moisture to bind the dough so that it holds together without being too wet or sticky. If it's still crumbly, add a little more ice water, 1 teaspoon at a time. When you get it to the right consistency, shape the dough into a disk and wrap it in plastic. Put it in the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Move the oven rack to the bottom third of the oven.

Divide the dough in half and set one half aside; cover it with a towel or plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a 10-inch round. Loosely drape the dough round over the rolling pin and transfer to a 9-inch pie pan. Press the dough over the bottom and sides of the pan. Trim the edges to about 1/2-inch.

Toss the fruit with the sugar, lemon, and cornstarch. Pile the fruit into the pie shell and dot with the butter. Roll out the reserved dough to a 9 to 10-inch round and lay it over the fruit. Trim, and crimp the edges. Cut 2 or 3 (2-inch) vents in the top of the pie and brush with the egg glaze. Put the pie on a baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling up through the vents, 50 to 60 minutes. Cover the edges with aluminum foil if they brown too fast. Cool on a rack before serving.