September is the perfect month to learn how to bake a pie. If you’ve never made one before, you’re still straddling two seasons: summer fruit tastes best in September and then, as the weather cools, you’ll transition into making apple pies, pumpkin pies, pecan pies, etc. So if your first few crusts are disasters, you’ll get the hang of it by October and then, by Thanksgiving, you’ll be knocking it out of the park.
Still an Amateur
As much as I’ve written about pie on this here blog, I still make my share of mistakes. The pie crust in today’s post rolled out looking more like a map of America than a circle. When I lifted it into the tin I realized I didn’t have enough overhang to make a pretty crimp. No matter! I just pressed it down with a fork.
And that’s the secret about pie: even if you think you’ve really screwed it up, you haven’t, because when you bake any crust with lots of fruit inside — plus sugar and corn starch and whatever else you throw in for flavor (vanilla, Bourbon) — it’s going to smell and taste really good. And with this particular pie, Nicole Rucker’s Stone Fruit Party Pie from her extraordinary new cookbook Fat and Flour, you really really can’t screw up because the topping is a crumble.
Let’s Talk About Fruit
As far as the fruit goes, Nicole’s recipe calls for one-and-a-half pounds of stone fruit plus half a pound of cherries but after making it the first time, I added more fruit and didn’t change anything else. It still totally worked.
And the fruit right now is so good! Oh my God, this peach.
Really, the best thing to do with fruit this good is to eat it raw. The second best thing is to bake it into a pie and my-oh-my is this the pie to make. It. Is. So. Good.
You bake it in a 375 oven for an hour or longer — you want it deep golden brown — and when it comes out, it’ll be burbling and smell buttery and fruity with a hint of cinnamon.
I baked this in the morning and then served it at night with vanilla ice cream. Everyone gobbled it up so quickly I had to interrupt and ask “is the pie okay?” (I’m needy) and everyone grunted “yes!” while devouring their piece.
So get thee to the farmer’s market, grab all of the peaches, the nectarines, the plums, the cherries, and get to work on a Stone Fruit Party Pie. It’s an edible last gasp of summer.
Ingredients
Method
- Make the filling. Cut the mixed stone fruit into 3/4-inch pieces (no need to peel), and combine them with the cherries in a large bowl. Add the bourbon, vanilla bean paste, and lemon zest. Whisk the sugar, salt, cornstarch, and cinnamon together in a small bowl, and add this to the fruit. Toss everything together, so all the fruit is coated.
- Make the crumble topping. Whisk the flour, oats, sugars, and salt together in a medium mixing bowl. Add the melted butter, and mix with a fork until the mixture resembles a buttery crumble.
- Preheat your oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.
- Assemble the pie. Lightly flour a work surface. Remove the dough from the fridge and remove the plastic. If your dough has been chilled overnight, it will need to temper before being rolled; this usually takes 10 to 15 minutes. Once the dough is pliable, roll the disc out to a 12-inch circle. Use flour throughout the rolling process as needed to prevent sticking. Transfer the rolled dough to a 9-inch pie plate, and trim the edge to allow 1 inch of dough to hang over the edge. Roll or fold the hanging edge of the dough over itself, using your thumb and forefinger to crimp the edge. Put the crimped crust into the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Once the crust has chilled, pour the filling in, adding all the juices that may have collected in the bottom of the bowl. Scatter the crumble over the top.
- Chill the whole pie in the freezer for 10 minutes, transfer it to the prepared baking sheet, then place the pie into your preheated oven, on the center rack, and bake it until the crust is a deep golden brown and the juices from the pie are boiling. This should take 1 full hour, and possibly longer. Cool the pie for 1 hour before eating, to allow the juices to settle and continue thickening. Store any leftovers in the fridge and warm slices of the cold pie at 375 F for 15 minutes before eating for best results.
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