Peach lattice pie

Pie crust is one of my favorite things to eat because of the crispy layers. Despite vegan margarine having a lower melting point than butter, I’ve found if you cut the butter in the right way you can achieve a crispy texture without difficulty. The last time I wrote about pie crust (post link) I talked about cubing the butter instead of using a fork or pie cutter, to achieve thicker wads of butter that melt to create bigger air pockets. In addition to doing this, this time I tried Vodka crust. While I usually use ice water to thicken the pie crust, but have been itching to try vodka since I read online that i may make the crust crispier.

Overall I found both ice water and 1/2 part vodka + 1/2 part ice water comparable, but using the vodka substitute did make the crust slightly crispier. If you enjoy crispy foods, the vodka crust with the cubed instead of slivered butter/margarine is the winning combination.

For filling I experimented with yellow peaches and white peaches when testing the recipe for this pie.I love eating white peaches, but in pie the yellow peaches are sweeter and more flavorful. With the first peaches of the season popping up in Costco, I’me excited to put this pie recipe to good use this summer. This peach lattice pie was made on a few separate times throughout the year, so the pictures here are the combination of when this pie was made recently and the flower in the background change with the seasons too!

Peach lattice pie

Savoring Spoon

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs

Servings 1 pie

Ingredients

  

Pie Crust

• 2.5 cup flour
• 1 cup Earth Balance vegan margarine
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup icy vodka
• 1/4 cup ice cold water not frozen
• 3 tablespoons water or 1 egg wash if not vegan + sprinkle of brown sugar on top

Pie Filling

• 3 pounds yellow peaches 6 large peaches. I used fuzzy peaches with the yellow centers and dark red + yellow skin. I have tried white peach but it is sweeter and tastes more artificial.
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• pinch of nutmeg cinnamon, salt
• 3 tablespoons potato starch or cornstarch

Instructions

 

• A few hours (or a day) before, make the pie crust
• Chill vodka and water in the freezer briefly until very cold (The water will start to freeze after about 30 min if you chill a small volume)
• Mix the flour, salt.
• Cut vegan margarine into small cubes quickly with a knife. Do not touch the margarine much with your hands, as this can melt the margarine/butter. Instead of using a pie cutter like most recipes it is important to actually cut it like little cubes (think rubix cube) as the fatter the cube of fat the bigger the air pockets once baked, so the crispier the crust.
• Add 1/4 cup ice cold vodka. Keep adding 1 tablespoon at a time of ice cold water till the dough can hold together as you need, I used about 1/4 cup of vodka and 1/2 cup water.
• Knead by pressing the palm of your hand into the dough until the dough just comes together (it will look lumpy). Knead quickly as your hands melt the margarine/butter). Separate the dough into two parts and plastic wrap each to be air tight. Chill in fridge for 4 hours or more.
• Preheat oven to 400F
• Make the filling. Peel your peaches with a vegetable peeler (careful not to cut yourself! they are very slippery once peeled!), and cut the slices about 1/2 inch in width at the thickest portion. Use a small knife to remove the red, hardened center of the peach close to the core.
• Toss the cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, sugars, starch together in a large bowel. Then mis the peaches together with this mixture.
• Butter your pie pan with the vegan margarine / butter.
• Flour the cutting board well, and roll 1/2 the pie dough into a round disc about 12 - 14 inches in width. Lay it into the pie pan, and use scissors to trim the crust.
• Fill with peaches.
• Roll the second 1/2 of the dough out, and cut into even strips 1/2 inch in width. Lay 5 strips of pie crust on top the pie, flip the first and third strips up, and lay a horizontal piece under. Now flip the 2nd and 4th strip up and lay another strip under that. Repeat with the 1st and 3rd piece, and keep going until you fill the lattice pie.
• Use any remaining dough to make little flowers or other decorations you can place on top of the lattice
• Brush the lattice pie w/ either water or egg wash, and sprinkle with light brown sugar to make it golden once baked.
• Bake for 1 hour at 400. The pie should be bubbling at the center and the crust should look flaky.