Peaches!

The mornings have turned chilly in the past week with a delicious cool breeze coming in our windows….with the cooler weather hinting of fall around the corner, I am more energetic about baking and cooking.  Yesterday was all about peaches!

My mom picked up 15 pounds of peaches at a farmers market over the weekend and had them in a sunny counter to be perfectly ripe and ready for cooking.  We had fresh peach smoothies for lunch.  And throughout the day (it was literally an all-day project), we made two HUGE crockpots full of peach sauce (also known as peach butter, but I didn’t put the spices in it so that its more like applesauce but with peaches).  Yum, we’ll be able to enjoy peach sauce for many months to come.  Then, I’m so excited to share my peach pies with you.  I made a couple so we’d have lots to enjoy ourselves (already gone!) and lots to share with our friends too!  My mom taught me the finer points of making her homemade extra delicate and flaky pie crust….I made 6 crusts so I’d have some to freeze in anticipation of making apple pies soon! Recipes at the bottom of this post!

I think peach pie may be my new absolute favorite. I seriously could not get enough of this pie.

3 of our 8 containers of sauce….

How to make everything:

Peach Sauce
6 cups sliced peaches
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups (1 11.5 oz can) peach, mango or apricot nectar
2 T lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla

Put peaches through food mill or food processor. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Uncover and continue cooking until excess liquid cooks away, about 5-8 hours, depending on shape and size of crockpot. About 1 hour before it is done, add 1 T tapioca. Makes about four 8 oz containers, which need to be eaten right away or frozen.

Pie Crust
Cut together with a pastry blender 3 cup flour, 1 1/3 cup crisco, and 1 1/4 tsp salt. Add 1 egg and a scant T of vinegar. Stir very gently. Add 1 to 3 T of ice water, one T at a time to gauge consistency. Do not get too watery! Roll out to a thin circle and transfer to your pie pan!

Peach Pie in a 9.5 inch pie crust, so reduce a little with a smaller pan
7 cups peaches, peeled and sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 T lemon juice
Stir together, bake at 425 for 35-40 minutes.  I brushed a little sugar over the lattice before baking.