{recipe} Peach Glaze Pie

My mom has been making a version of this pie since I was a kid. If you’ve got really great peaches, this is a terrific way to highlight them without cooking them all to hell as in a normal 2-crust pie. Plus, it’s easy and quick as can be.

Essentially it’s just one crust with raw, unadulterated peaches covered in a layer of sweet sticky peach glaze. I’ve kicked up Mom’s old recipe with a vanilla bean and some fresh lemon juice. We used to go to Brentwood every summer to buy peaches from the farmers, but now my dear ol’ Dad grows lovely ones in his little orchard. If you’ve ever seen a stone fruit tree in bloom you’ll know that you only get a couple of weeks to consume what seems like a gazillion fresh fruits. So if you find yourself with a bushel of great peaches, I highly recommend you try it!

Peach Glaze Pie

Ingredients:

• one baked pie crust
• 4 cups peaches, peeled and sliced
• 1 1/2 cups peaches, peeled and chopped into small pieces
• 1 vanilla bean, split and seeded
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 Tblsp cornstarch
• 1 Tblsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tblsp butter
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

• Pour sliced peaches into crust.
• In a small saucepan, combine chopped peaches with 3/4 cup water, plus the seeds and pod of the vanilla bean. Bring to boil and boil gently for 4 mintues.
• Whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Add to peaches. Cook, stirring, until thick and glossy.
• Turn off heat and add lemon juice, butter, and salt.
• Remove vanilla pod from glaze and pour hot glaze over peaches. Let set at room temperature for about an hour before serving.