“A Georgia peach, a real Georgia peach, a backyard great-grandmother’s orchard peach, is as thickly furred as a sweater, and so fluent and sweet that once you bite through the flannel, it brings tears to your eyes.” ~ Melissa Fay Greene, ‘Praying for Sheetrock’
Peach Blueberry Deep Dish Pie with Peach Liqueur and Crisp Cornmeal Pie Crust
My farm stand is at its peak during the month of August. The bounty of the season spills out of the baskets that are stacked on the counters. The onions and potatoes, plus the corn and tomatoes, are so wonderful that it makes me consider becoming a vegetarian.
The fruit counters are so full of color. From the red raspberries, strawberries and cherries to the blueberries, peaches and plums, it is hard to choose. The peaches and blueberries were calling my name.
With all that bounty, it just seemed appropriate to make a deep dish pie. Since fruit pies can make crusts soggy, I decided to experiment with a cornmeal crust.
Gather the ingredients for the crust.
In a food processor, mix together the flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt. Add in the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles crumbs. Add the sour cream and 2-3 tablespoons of ice water and mix until the mixture forms a ball. If more water is needed, add it one tablespoon at a time. See note below.
Gather the dough into a ball and divide it in half. Flatten each half and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for one hour.
While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling. Pit and peel the peaches. Then slice into ½” thick pieces.
In a large bowl, combine the sliced peaches, blueberries, peach liqueur and sugar. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Strain the fruit mixture over a large saucepan. Mix 1/8 cup of cornstarch with just enough water to form a liquid. Stir the cornstarch into the fruit liquid in the saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Let cool about 5 minutes.
Return the drained fruit to the large bowl and add the cinnamon and the remaining 1/8 cup of cornstarch. Toss lightly, then stir in the cooled thickened fruit sauce.
Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and roll out one of the disks. Place the rolled out dough into a greased 9” springform pan. Work the dough up the sides of the pan.
NOTE: My cornmeal pie crust was a little crumbly. It could have used an extra tablespoon of water. As you can see the dough ripped. Don’t worry, just patch the dough as you see me doing in the photo. It does not affect the finished product.
Roll out the remaining pie dough and cut into ¾” strips. Pour the filling into the springform pan.
Top with the butter cut into cubes. Then weave the strips into a lattice pattern.
NOTE: You could also place the crust on top of the fruit without making a lattice pattern.
Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven with the rack placed in the lower 1/3 of the oven. This will promote nice browning of the bottom crust. The entire cooking time is 65-75 minutes. You want to see bubbling before you remove the pie from the oven.
About halfway through the baking process, lay a piece of aluminum foil on top of the pie. This will prevent over browning. NOTE: Don’t seal the foil, you do not want the pie to steam.
Let peach blueberry pie cool completely before releasing the springform latch.
When cool, remove the ring from the springform pan. Cut and serve.
Deep Dish Peach and Blueberry Pie with Cornmeal Crust
By Published: August 9, 2013
- Yield: 8-10 Servings
- Prep: 60 mins
- Cook: 1 hr 15 mins
- Ready In: 2 hrs 15 mins
“A Georgia peach, a real Georgia peach, a backyard great-grandmother's orchard peach, is as thickly furred as a sweater, and …
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour Crust
- 1/4 cup medium grind cornmeal Crust
- 3 tablespoons white sugar Crust
- 3/4 teaspoon salt Crust
- 16 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces Crust
- 7 tablespoons sour cream Crust
- 2-3 tablespoons ice cold water Crust
- 2 cups fresh blueberries Filling
- 7 cups peaches, sliced Filling (about 16 medium peaches)
- 3/4 cup peach liqueur Filling ( I used Peachcello)
- 1/4 cup white sugar Filling
- 1/4 cup cornstarch Filling
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon Filling
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter Filling
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients for the crust
- In a food processor, mix together the flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt. Add in the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles crumbs. Add the sour cream and 2-3 tablespoons of ice water and mix until the mixture forms a ball. If more water is needed, add it one tablespoon at a time.
See note below
- Gather the dough into a ball and divide it in half. Flatten each half and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for one hour.
- While the dough is chilling, prepare the filling. Pit and peel the peaches. Then slice into ½” thick pieces.
- In a large bowl, combine the sliced peaches, blueberries, peach liqueur and sugar. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Strain the fruit mixture over a large saucepan. Mix 1/8 cup of cornstarch with just enough water to form a liquid. Stir the cornstarch into the fruit liquid in the saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Let cool about 5 minutes.
- Return the drained fruit to the large bowl and add the cinnamon and an additional 1/8 cup of cornstarch. Toss lightly, then stir in the cooled thickened fruit sauce.
- Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and roll out one of the disks. Place the rolled out dough into a greased 9” springform pan. Work the dough up the sides of the pan.
- NOTE: My cornmeal crust was a little crumbly. It could have used an extra tablespoon of water. As you can see the dough ripped. Don’t worry, just patch the dough as you see me doing in the photo. It does not affect the finished product.
- Roll out the remaining pie dough and cut into ¾” strips. Pour the filling into the springform pan.
- Top with the butter cut into cubes. Then weave the strips into a lattice pattern.
NOTE: You could also place the crust on top of the fruit without making a lattice pattern.
- Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven with the rack placed in the lower 1/3 of the oven. This will promote nice browning of the bottom crust. The entire cooking time is 65-75 minutes. You want to see bubbling before you remove the pie from the oven.
- About halfway through the baking process, lay a piece of aluminum foil on top of the pie. This will prevent over browning. NOTE: Don’t seal the foil, you do not want the pie to steam
- Let pie cool completely before releasing the springform latch.
When cool, remove the ring from the springform pan.
- Serve and enjoy
