Three-day weekends call for PIE!

I’m not exactly one for making a huge deal out of the 4th. However. This is amended if it gives me an excuse to bake. (Despite the fact that it’s around a hundred degrees in the shade, which is a quarter of how hot the oven is. ew.)

Since I get to go skiing this weekend (and go swimming at a high elevation, teehee), thanks to abnormally ridiculous amounts of snow this winter, I thought I should make something slightly patriotic. Or whatever. I really just wanted pie. With peaches, because a) I love them and b) why would I even need another reason? Pie is excellent. Especially for breakfast. Or following a day of summer skiing. With ice cream. Yessss. (I can see you drooling, you know.)

That being said, I don’t make a lot of pies, which is why I’m so proud of this one.  It looks downright professional despite coming from a pie-newbie. Thanks to Mutti for getting in a bicep workout rolling out the dough :) I think I’ll add  pie to my repertoire. It has fruit. Fruit=healthy. Never mind the sugar and butter… It even has a whole wheat crust! See? Healthy. Breakfast.

Peach Pie (For the 4th of July! Ha. It  rhymes. Ewww. sorry.)

Adapted from Annie’s Eats, here: http://annies-eats.net/2007/06/17/a-slice-or-two-of-heaven/

3 cups whole wheat pastry
½ tsp. salt
6 oz. unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), chilled and diced
5-6 Tbs. cold water  (Mine took more like 8 tbsp to come together)

6 peaches, peeled and pitted, and 2 nectarines
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the butter. Cut the butter into the flour or rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture is crumb-like. Sprinkle 5 tablespoons of water over the mixture. With a fork, toss gently to mix and moisten it. Press the dough into a ball. If it is too dry to form a dough, add the remaining water. Wrap the ball of dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes.

To make the filling, place the peaches in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and toss to coat well. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, salt and nutmeg. Add to the peaches and toss to combine.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let warm up a bit. Preheat oven to 425°.

Cut the dough in half. On a floured surface, roll out one half into a 12-inch round, about 1/8 inch thick. Try to keep the dough as round as possible. Transfer the rolled-out pastry to a 9-inch pie dish. Flute the edges by poking the dough outward with your fingers, and prick the bottom of the dough with a fork (to prevent a soggy crust). Roll out the pastry for the top crust and use star shaped (or any shape, really) cookie cutters to cut out bits of dough. Pile the fruit mixture into the pastry-lined pan and dot with bits of butter. Lay the stars over the top in a circular pattern, leaving space for the steam to escape.

 Bake for 25 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F and bake until the juices are bubbling and the top is browned, about 25 minutes more. If the top is browning too fast, make a foil tent to cover it. I covered mine with about 9 minutes to go on the total baking time. Makes one 9-inch pie; serves 8.