Photography By Saraizel Senderovits 

Cherry Peach Pie

Fruit pies are the perfect year-round dessert. Each season can be represented in pies, so use your favorite seasonal fruits to change it up! 

Every fruit pie is comprised of two parts: pie crust and fruit filling. A great pie starts with a great crust, and there are some key factors to ensure a perfect pie crust. 

Keep dough refrigerated until ready to bake. All ingredients must be very cold. Keep the margarine and shortening refrigerated until ready to use, and put ice cubes in the water. Do not over-handle your dough; and when rolling it out, try to use as little flour as possible, if any at all. 

Pie Crust 

Crust adapted from Ina Garten 

• 3 cups flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ¼ cup (½ stick) cold butter or margarine, cubed
• ⅓ cup cold shortening, cubed
• 6-8 Tbsp ice water

Cherry-Peach Filling

• 5½ cups mixed fruit,
• peaches pitted and sliced,
• cherries pitted and halved
• ¾ cup sugar
• zest of 3 limes
• 3 Tbsp cornstarch
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ‎⅛ tsp salt

Assembly:

• 2 cups raw beans
• 1 Tbsp coarse sugar (or regular sugar)
• 1 egg, beaten, for egg wash

Place the flour, sugar, and salt into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the S blade. Process to mix. Add margarine and shortening, and pulse until pea-sized balls form. With the machine running, slowly add water, one tablespoon at a time, until a dough forms. (Do not add more water than needed — I added 6 tablespoons). Split dough into two balls. Place each ball into a 2-gallon ziplock bag, and flatten into a disc. Refrigerate for a minimum of a half hour. In a large bowl, mix all filling ingredients.

Place in a strainer to allow excess liquid to drain. Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Grease a 9-inch (20-cm) deep-dish pie plate. Remove one disc of dough from refrigerator. While it’s still in the ziplock bag, roll out dough to a 12- inch (30-cm) circle. Cut open the sides of the bag, and transfer dough to the prepared pie plate. Trim edges of dough. Loosely lay a sheet of aluminum foil on top of the dough, and place beans on the foil. Bake on bottom rack of oven for 10 minutes (this is known as “blind baking”).

Meanwhile, remove the second disc of dough from the refrigerator, and again, in the bag, roll it out into a 12- inch (30-cm) circle. Cut open sides of bag, then cut some circles (or slits, or any other shape) in the dough. This is important, as it allows the steam to vent while baking and prevents a soggy, runny pie. Remove pie dish from the oven, and lower oven temperature to 400°F (200°C). Remove the beans, and fill pie crust with the fruit filling. Brush edges of the pie with egg wash, and top with the second piece of dough. Pinch edges together with fingers or tines of a fork. Brush the entire pie with egg wash, and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Keep an eye on the pie to make sure the crust does not burn. If the edge is getting too dark, wrap it with aluminum foil so it doesn’t burn.

TIPS  To prevent a runny or soggy pie: 

Blind bake your bottom crust. Make sure to include a starch in your filling, and let excess liquid drain before filling your pie crust.

Make holes or slits in your top crust to allow steam to vent. Alternatively, make a lattice-topped pie.

Allow pie to cool few a few hours, or even overnight, before serving.

TIPS Any combination of fruits can make a delicious pie!

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• apple/pear
• mixed berries
• apple/cranberry
• apricot/plum
• strawberry/rhubarb

(Originally featured in FamilyTable, Issue 652)