Vermont Maple Peach Pie

Both my mom and I love to cook. As my adult years have progressed and she and I have shared more recipes, we joke about certain recipes just being better when the other one makes it. This falls mostly on her side. I have multiple recipes that just are never as good when I make them as hers are when she makes the same dish. Do you think that is a psychological phenomenon? Is "mom's cooking" just always going to be the best?

I guess that might be another discussion... Despite the true excellence of my mom's cooking, we have two recipes that somehow turn out better when I make them. One of them is this recipe. My mom complains that her Vermont Maple Peach Pie always turns out runny. For some reason, mine thicken beautifully and it just might be my favorite summer fruit pie. I made one for Jeff and I last weekend over Labor Day, sent 2/3 of it home with him, and then regretted it terribly the next day when I wanted more! If he didn't live on the WAY other side of town, I might have snuck over and taken some of it back.

As we speak, I have 6 lovely peaches sitting in my kitchen tempting me to make one more and keep at least 1/2 of it for myself... We'll see if the peaches or my own tenuous sense of self-control wins out...

But since most of you probably don't fall into a category of "wow-I-ate-way-too-much-dessert-in-the-last-two-weeks", I highly recommend you run out to the store or farmer's market, grab some of the last peaches of the season and try this one out. Consider it a celebration of summertime as the season starts to drift away...

Vermont Maple Peach Pie

Crust:
(Make 2 of the recipe below. Add 1/3 of one of them to the other. Use the larger recipe for the bottom crust. Roll out the small one and use it for the top crust)
1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp sugar
¾ tsp salt
½ cup oil
2 Tbs milk
Mix flour, sugar, and salt in pie pan. In separate container, mix oil and milk. Add to flour mixture in pie pan; pat around sides and then bottom of pie pan.

*This is the Dieter-family standard pie crust. Feel free to use your own favorite crust recipe in place of this one.

Peach Filling:
6 large peaches (approx. 2-3/4 lbs)
¼ cup real maple syrup
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs cornstarch or tapioca starch (tapioca starch/flour is my preference as a thickening agent)
*Mix these together and add peaches – let sit 5 minutes and mix again

2 Tbs butter, cut into ½” pieces
1 tsp cinnamon & 1Tbsp sugar (mixed)

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut unpeeled peaches into ½’ slices. Toss in a large bowl with the maple syrup, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cornstarch/tapioca starch.
- Pour filling into the crust, scraping in the juices and any undissolved sugar. If using, distribute the butter pieces evenly over the filling.
- Invert top crust onto top of filling. Brush the pastry with softened butter and sprinkle lightly with cinnamon sugar. Poke in several places with a fork/knife to let steam release.
- Bake in the lower third of the over for 45-50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Remove from over and let cool for 1 hour.

Above is the formal recipe. I don't usually add the butter to the pie filling. In general, I am a firm believer that butter makes almost anything better, but in this instance, if you want to lean toward being a little more health-conscious, feel free to leave it out. The pie is wonderful without it.

I also don't usually brush the top crust with butter or do the cinnamon sugar. I feel like the pie is sweet enough on its own. But it does make it look a little prettier so feel free if you want it!

Enjoy :)