A touch of spicy ginger and cinnamon add warmth and depth to sweet summer peaches. We made this pie with sweet, ripe peaches which allowed us to use less sugar; you may need to adjust the amount of sugar, depending on the sweetness of your peaches.
Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 cups flour
½ tsp. salt
8 tbsp. chilled butter, cut into pieces
3 tbsp. chilled vegetable shortening
1 egg
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
For the filling:
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. peeled, minced fresh ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
⅔ cup plus 1 tbsp. sugar
¼ cup instant tapioca
4 lbs. fresh peaches
2 tbsp. butter
1 egg white
Instructions:
1. For the crust: Sift flour and salt into a medium bowl. Rub butter and shortening into flour mixture with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs. Whisk egg and lemon juice together in a small bowl, then sprinkle into flour mixture with 3 to 4 tbsp. ice water. Mix until dough just begins to hold together. Wrap; refrigerate 1 hour.
2. For the filling: Combine lemon juice, ginger, cinnamon, ⅔ cup of the sugar, and tapioca in a large bowl. Blanch peaches in a pot of boiling water for 15 seconds, then cool in a bowl of cold water. Peel, cut into thick slices, and toss in lemon juice mixture.
3. Preheat oven to 375°. Divide dough in half. Roll into two 12" circles on a floured surface. Line a 9" pie pan with one circle; add peach filling. Drape remaining circle on top, crimp edges, and slash top. Brush with egg white, and sprinkle with remaining 1 tbsp. sugar. Bake until golden, about 1 hour. Serve warm.