Summertime is finally arriving here in Livingston. Just in time, too, to take full advantage of all the summertime fruits. I think summer fruits in season have to be my favorite fruits – whether they are watermelons, cantaloupes, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, seedless grapes, nectarines or my favorite – peaches.
But not just any peach – it absolutely must be either a Georgia peach or a Texas Hill Country peach. In my opinion, they are the only peaches worth taking home. The California variety may look good, but they have no flavor and no wonderful aroma. When you smell a peach and it does not set off an olfactory orgy – don’t buy it.
When Roy and I paddled the Hill Country rivers in the summertime years ago, I got hooked on the wonder of Fredericksburg peaches. They might be smaller than the California peaches you usually see in the stores, but their flavor and aroma are as big as Texas. No matter which river we paddled in the summer, we had to make a stop to buy Texas peaches from a roadside vendor. Bite into a ripe, fragrant peach and the juice runs down your face. You don’t even care if it stains your shirt. We always bought enough for me to take home and make peach preserves. But there was always a problem. The peaches smelled so good in the car, Roy or I had to eat just one. And one lead to another – until there were just enough left to have with breakfast or make peach fried pies with.
When we stopped making the run to the Hill Country and moved to the coast, my supply of this earthly delight dried up. One day, Roy stumbled across Texas peaches again at HEB. He brought home a bag and I made a peach cobbler and discovered peach fried pies. My neighbors loved me when I brought them some of those confections.
Roy and I moved to Livingston and though they have an HEB here, for the last three years, I haven’t found Texas peaches. They were hard to come by, but just a couple of days ago, I saw Texas peaches advertised when I made a delivery order. They’re expensive – but if they taste as good as they did in the past, they are worth every penny.
I haven’t given you a recipe in a while, so I thought you might like to try making these peach fried pies.
But I want to caution you – don’t take shortcuts. Don’t even think about using premade pie pastry for the crust. It is not the same. This pastry, made from the directions, is stiff enough to hold the fruit in and tender enough to enjoy eating. And make sure you use fresh peaches – NEVER canned ones. (I think people who use canned peaches for cobblers or fried pies aren’t even Texans.) Where it says to use ice water, put some water in a glass with ice cubes, when the outside of the glass sweats, the water is cold enough to use. Follow the recipe, or don’t bother making these pies.
I cut this recipe out of The Houston Post many years ago. The pastry is attributed to Jonathon Dixxon, Ouisie’s Pastry Chef.
Filling:
2 pounds fresh peaches
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of salt
Pastry:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup Crisco shortening
½ cup ice water
For filling, combine sliced peaches, sugar, spices, extracts and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Prepare pastry dough; chill 30 minutes. Divide dough in half. Roll out each half; cut 6 circles (3 from each half of dough), each 5¼ inches in diameter. (You can make smaller pies if you choose.)
Place several sliced peaches on each dough circle. Moisten edges with water, fold in half over filling. Seal with fork.
Heat 2 to 3 inches Crisco shortening in deep fryer or saucepan to 365 degrees. Fry a few at a time 3 minutes or until golden brown. Turn once. Remove with slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.
Serve warm, dusted with confectioner’s sugar. This is also great with ice cream or whipped topping.
Makes 6 pies
Sometimes, when I am making these pies, I substitute some of the peaches for pitted fresh cherries and/or blackberries or blueberries. I also like them cold – if you have any left, which usually does not happen. Enjoy!
