This richly flavorful pie is a perfect way to celebrate peach season. It’s an easy one to make, and sure to please!
Dear friends ~
I’ve been away from this website, and out of my kitchen, for quite some time this summer. I’ve missed sharing “new” old recipes with you, and it’s so good to be getting back to it!
Some newsletter subscribers might remember from my last email, that I was about to go in for surgery. In a nutshell, that surgery did not go as planned. Life-threatening complications and a prolonged hospital stay were most definitely not on my agenda for August, but life does love to dish up the unexpected, doesn’t it?Β
It’s now a slow road to recovery, but my two amazing kids have been helping far past their “pay grade”. When my 11 year old walked in after staying with her grandparents during my hospitalization, she announced that she was “taking over the kitchen–dishes AND cooking!”.
Today’s recipe is a testament to that, and was a delicious choice for her foray into pie-making. It comes from a lovely 1894 copy of The Century Cook Book and Home Physician, by Dr. N.T. Oliver (not to be confused with another 1800’s volume by a similar name, The Century Cook Book, by Mary Ronald.)
One thing that intrigued us about this particular recipe was the addition of butter, which I’ve never seen added to a peach pie before. The result was just wonderful, with a “rounder” mouth feel, and really did justice to the beautifully ripe peaches from our backyard tree.
If you’re looking for a special weekend recipe, and peaches are still in season where you are, this would be a lovely one to try!
The Century Cook Book and Home Physician, 1894
FRUIT PIES
Rub the plates or tins on which they are to be baked with a very little butter; roll the crust out thin, line the plate, and put in the fruit, being careful not to put in too much, as that would cause the pie to run over. Sweeten to taste, and if the fruit is juicy, stir a little flour through it before putting it in the crust.
Berries, cherries, gooseberries rhubarb, plums, etc., do not need any seasoning, except sugar. Apple and peach pies are improved by placing bits of butter on the fruit before putting on the upper crust.
The edge of under crust should be wet with a little flour and water before putting on the upper crust. Pies should be baked in a moderate oven, the usual time being from forty to sixty minutes.
Here’s a photo of the recipe as it appears in the cookbook:
A FEW COOKING NOTES:
This was an easy recipe, and a fun one to make. Here are a few notes from our process, that you might find helpful.
What crust recipe to use?
We used our go-to “Family Pie Paste” recipe from 1873. This is an excellent all-around pie crust recipe that works well for either sweet or savory pies, and it has a wonderful, flaky texture.
One batch is enough for both the top and bottom crust of this peach pie.
How many peaches do you need?
I usually would have measured and weighed the amount of peaches, to give you a more precise estimate, but I’m just not back to my full self yet, and didn’t.
Following the directions to not over-fill, we sliced peaches until we had enough to fill my 10″ antique pie plate, even with the top edge of the plate. This used about 12 medium-small peaches from the Reliance peach tree in our backyard.
Flour, or no flour?
Our peaches were ripe, but not over-ripe. As the baker of the pie, I left it to my 11 year old, to interpret whether she felt our fruit was “juicy” and in need of flour.
She opted for no flour, which is the decision I would have made as well. You can see that it resulted in a slightly juicy pie, and that’s exactly how I’d make it again. If you have extra-juicy peaches or like a less-juicy pie, I’d opt for just a little flour–even 1 Tablespoon dredged among the slices would be enough to thicken it up.
How much sugar?
My little baker went with 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the result was wonderful. Our peaches were sweet and ripe, so that was truly plenty.
If your peaches aren’t very sweet, or are just barely ripe, you may want to bump that up a little.
How much butter?
She used unsalted butter, and dotted a scant 2 tablespoons of it over the peach slices. I think that was perfect, and enough to make a perceptible difference in the flavor and mouthfeel of the pie, without making it at all greasy or heavy tasting.
Putting on the upper crust
A pastry brush would be a great way to brush a little water along the edge of that bottom crust, but not having one at the time, she just dipped her finger in a little water and moistened the crust, before sprinkling a very little flour on it.
This worked just fine, and that extra step of dampening the edge before placing the top crust, certainly did seal the top and bottom crusts nicely.
How hot should the oven be?
For a “moderate oven” I’ve found over time that going with 340Β°F usually gives me the desired result, in the correct amount of time given, in recipes from this era.
At 340Β°F, in a 10″ pie plate, ours took the full 60 minutes of the “forty to sixty minutes” specified, and came out beautifully.
You could absolutely bump that temperature up to a more usual 350Β°F, if you’d rather though, and start checking for done-ness closer to the 40 minute mark.
I’ve made pies using this all-butter crust many times at 350Β°F, and it bakes nicely at that temperature without scorching, so I wouldn’t hesitate to go with that oven setting next time.
This was a delicious use for fresh peaches, and I think we’re going to have to make a yearly tradition of it!
I do hope you’ve been well, dear reader…I’ve certainly missed sharing recipes here in the newsletter. Several of you sent the kindest emails while I was MIA, and I’m still catching up on responding. Please know how much each of those notes means–truly more than you know!
While spending my days confined to the couch, I did have lots of time to read through my old cookbooks, so I’ve got a long list of recipes I can’t wait to try as I get back into the kitchen. One day at a time!
As always, feel free to send me an email anytime, with recipe requests!Β With joy and gratitude, ~ Anna
This recipe was originally shared in the 1800’s Housewife newsletter. Not on the mailing list? You can join here to receive full recipes with cooking notes straight to your inbox!
If you liked this recipe, here are some others you may enjoy:
Christine says
Thank you so much for this recipe! And it was perfect timing! Your email, with this recipe, arrived in my inbox on the very day that I was planning to make a peach pie for supper. I used the crust recipe that you recommended. β Itβs such a beautiful dough to work with. My peaches were very ripe and juicy, needing to be used right away; so I did add the flour. I used 2 tablespoons. I was hurrying to get the pie made in time for supper and sadly forgot to dot the top of the peaches with butter before adding the top crust. β It was a delicious pie, anyway! On a subsequent day, we had friends over, so put the refrigerated pie into the oven to warm, and served the warm pie with vanilla ice cream.
Christine says
Five stars! π
I realized that when I posted my comment, I forgot to give the recipe a star rating. β Sorry about that! I definitely would have given it five stars; but now, I donβt seem to have the opportunity to choose a star rating, after having previously commented.