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My easy recipe for how to make Peach Pie won me the Blue Ribbon TWO TIMES at my friend Billy’s birthday parties. One of those parties featured an Andy Griffith themed/Aint Bea’s Pie Contest. All Billy’s guests enjoyed that pie contest so much, that he ran ANOTHER pie contest, the following year. My peach pie won again.
The Full Peach Pie Monty.
The next year, I entered it at the Tennessee State Fair, where it won 2nd place. The judge told me it almost won first, but when I tasted what was left in my pie dish, after the judges had finished with it, I knew why it hadn’t won. The bottom crust was soggy! ~cue dramatic music~ dunh, dunh, dunh DUUUUNH! “But, WHY WAS THE BOTTOM CRUST SOGGY FOR THE TENNESSEE STATE FAIR???”, you might well ask? It was due to the fact that I became fearful that once I’d turned my pie in, I might lose my glass pie dish. Instead of leaving my precious Pyrex pie dish there, at the state fair, with my pie in it, I decided to use a smaller sized tin foil disposable pan!
Does it Matter What Kind of Pie Dish I Use?
If you read the previous paragraph, now you know. Not all pie dishes will brown your crust equally well!!! I think glass Pyrex pie dishes do better than any other kind I’ve tried: better than ceramic, and even better than cast iron.
See how the pelican doth run? We couldn’t wait to cut it! If you wait a bit, the filling will be less runny.
How Do I Pick the Best Peaches?
The most important thing to do when picking out your peaches is to smell them. They should be quite fragrant. In other words, they should smell very peachy. And in regard to how they feel, there should be a very gentle give to your thumb. They should NOT be hard as a rock, nor squishy. If they appear to be a day or two underripe, you can put them in a brown paper bag, but KEEP AN EYE ON THEM. They can go to moldy squishiness faster than you can say avocado, if you follow my drift. (Two fruits one must always keep an eye on, in regard to ripening speed: the peach, and the avocado.)
Why Do You Call Peach Pie, “Peach Pelican”?
We call this Fabulous, Fresh Peach Pie “Pelican”, or “Peach Pelican”, at our house. The origin of that term is lost in the mystery of our family lore. Translation: no one remembers how in the WORLD that name evolved. But, my husband sings a little song about it, to the tune of La Cucaracha: “A Peach-a Pel-i-can, A Peach-a Pelican, la la la la la la la, A Peach-a Pelican, A Peach-a Pelican, la la la la la la la”. This is our celebratory pie song, or the song sung to prompt Mommy to get busy and make the pelican. And now, if you’re truly odd, it can be yours.
Where Did You Get this Recipe for Fabulous Fresh Peach Pie?
The Changes I Made to the Original Recipe:
Please, pin this on Pinterest so you can make one this summer!
The Recipe for How to Make Fabulous Fresh Peach Pie
How to Make Fabulous Fresh Peach Pie
Fabulous Fresh Peach Pie. The pie that won the Pie Contest. Three times.
Ingredients
- For the Double Crust pastry:
- 2 c. all purpose flour
- 1 t. salt
- 2/3 c. plus 2 T. shortening (I use those sticks from Crisco - no mess measuring!)
- 4 to 5 T. cold water
- (I use ICE water - and sometimes I only need 3 T. water, especially if it's humid.)
- For the Pie:
- 6 cups peeled, sliced fresh peaches
- 2/3 cup sugar (adjust to sweetness of your peaches) 
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg
- 3/4 t. vanilla extract
- 3 T. butter
- 
Instructions
For the Double Crust Pastry:
Combine flour and salt; cut in shortening with pastry blender (use two forks if you don't have a pastry blender) until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle cold water (1 T. at a time) evenly over surface; stir with a fork until dry ingredients are moistened. Shape into two discs and wrap each in plastic wrap. Chill for at least 1 hour.
For the Pie Filling:
Combine peaches, sugar, flour, and nutmeg in a saucepan; set aside until syrup forms. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to low, and cook 10 minutes or until peaches are tender, stirring often. Remove from heat; add vanilla, and butter, blending well.
To Assemble the Pie:
Roll out pastry to 1/8" thickness on a lightly floured surface. Place pastry in a 9" pie plate; trim off excess pastry along edges Spoon peach filling into pastry shell. Roll remaining pastry to 1/8" thickness. Transfer to top of pie. Trim off excess pastry along edges. Fold edges under and flute. Cut slits in top of crust for steam to escape. Brush top of pastry with about 1t. of half and half, and sprinkle with about 1t. of sugar. Bate at 425º for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350º, and bake an additional 30 minutes, or until crust is browned.
Adapted from The Southern Living Cookbook
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Me, Oh My: I Love Pie
For all the pies I've loved before....
It's American. ALL American. And my recipe is prize winning!
You won't believe how much better this pie is when it's fluffy! It melts in your mouth!
I even have a recipe for those of you with Fear of Pie Making:
Wondering how to make homemade cherry pie? My recipe for how to make The Best Homemade Cherry pie, uses pitted, frozen sour cherries from Michigan.
It's a classic. And this one is made WITHOUT Jello, or any artificial coloring.
This is the best blueberry pie I've ever had. It ain't braggin' if it's the truth.
With my Mom's secret ingredient.
Susan
Saturday 11th of July 2020
I am sorry but your crust has too much shortening. It tore to pieces when trying to transfer it to the pie plate. I'll stick to my good old recipe.
Susan Williams
Sunday 12th of July 2020
Dear Susan,
I'm so sorry it didn't work out for you, and that you had a bad experience! I hope you followed each of my tips. I know for a fact that it does work, as it's the recipe I've been using for 32 years, so here are the variables that might have caused your bad experience. 1. Did you weigh the flour? If your cups of flour were lighter than 120 grams, than that could cause your issue. 2. Did you carefully measure the shortening? If your fat was precisely half of the flour, then your ratio is correct. Again, I weigh my shortening after I've cut and measured my shortening sticks, and by this time, I've made so many pies in my life that when I weigh my shortening after I've cut it, my measurements are dead on. 3. Did you use ice-cold water? That will keep your fat from melting prematurely. 4. Did you chill your dough long enough (at least one hour) in the fridge before attempting to roll it out? Pastry that is cold is much easier to roll and manage. 4. Did you roll your dough too thin? That's another variable that might cause your pastry to tear. 5. Did you follow my tips for rolling the dough out between the waxed paper and the plastic wrap? When I roll the dough up around the rolling pin, with the plastic wrap still in place, that plastic wrap protects it, and it rarely ever tears. Finally, I'm going to link you to a post that I wrote that specifically outlines all these procedures: https://www.thatsusanwilliams.com/2020/03/how-to-make-a-flaky-homemade-pie-crust/
Wishing you the best!
Susan
Amy
Monday 25th of November 2019
Do you spray or grease the pie plate? I’ve never tried homemade crust.
Susan Williams
Tuesday 26th of November 2019
No. There’s plenty of fat in the pastry.
tamwarner
Tuesday 25th of July 2017
I can't cook, but peach is my favorite, and looking at the photos makes me happy!
Cathy Lawdanski
Monday 24th of July 2017
Beautiful and delicious! I enjoyed peach cobbler yesterday at a family gathering! Time for a pie.And I'm a firm believer in the Pyrex PIe Pan!
Susan Williams
Tuesday 25th of July 2017
I should have mentioned, in the post, that there is scientific evidence that supports our preference! Cook's Illustrated did an equipment review on best pie plate dishes, and their results were that Pyrex was the best, too!
Ellen Dolgen
Monday 24th of July 2017
Good to know about the tin pan vs the glass. I often use tin.........now I know why my pie crust isn't as good. This sounds just yummy. I love it that you reduced the amount of sugar, as I am not a big fan when a pie is overly sweet. Thanks for the great recipe. The peaches are fantastic in San Diego this time of year.