Peach Caramel Crumble Pie

Peaches are in season and there's a nice crop of them available here. When I lived on Whidbey  Island we had some massive cherry, apple, pear and peach trees. I used to anxiously climb them and check out the fruit for picking. My parents canned everything we couldn't readily eat, but nothing beats homemade fresh fruit pies and cobblers. After my long Ann Curry rant on here, I went onto fb and joined some Support Ann Curry groups. It's been very nice to be able to commiserate with others who feel much like I do about that whole NBC mess. I've met some great people and am now in a recipe group called "Curry Cooks" :D......For this pie, I'm using Sarah Myers' pie crust recipe which I have adapted just a tad and also using Helen Willingham's vinager tip. Sarah is a retired Bakery Chef so guess how excited I am! Looking forward to all the wonderful recipes from this group. This is a very basic peach pie recipe with a crumble top, it looks ugly but just like people it's whats inside that counts and the insides are luscious!


Crust

Ingredients (adapted from Sarah Myers & Helen Willingham):
1 1/4 cups flour (all-purpose)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shortening, chilled

1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled
2 tablespoons ice water

1 tablespoon distilled white vinager

Directions
Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium size bowl. Transfer flour and salt mixture into a pastry blender or food processor, cut in the cold shortening and cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

Drizzle 2 to 3 tablespoons ice water over flour. Toss mixture with a fork to moisten, adding more water a few drops at a time until the dough comes together.

Remove dough from processor and make into a ball.  Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling.

Once dough is chilled, tear out 2 pieces of plastic wrap to the size of your pie pan with an additional 2 inch boarder. Place the dough in-between the plastic wrap and roll out dough to the size of your pan. Once rolled out, remove top layer and position over the pan and release the top layer of plastic wrap. Finish off the edges by crimping them.

Place the pie pan into refrigerator until you're ready to fill it.

For the Peach Filling

Ingredients:
3 pounds ripe yellow or white peaches, pitted and sliced into 1/2-inch wedges (approx. 8 cups)
2 tablespoons brown sugar (light or dark)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Note: 1 cup of jarred caramel ice cream topping (not the magic shell kind. This will be used later and not mixed into the filling.)

Directions:

Place sliced peaches into medium sized mixing bowl and add the brown sugar, flour, vanilla and cinnamon. Mix well and set aside. 

For The Crumble Topping

Ingredients:1/3 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:In a small bowl or processor, combine all the ingredients and pulse or stir until the butter is well incorporated and crumbly.

Pie Assembly:Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Remove pie crust from refrigerator and pour in the peach filling. 

Pour 1 cup of caramel topping over the filling. Sprinkle the crumble on top. 

Place pie pan on baking sheet. Bake for approx. 1 hour and 20 minutes. The topping and crust should be a nice golden brown color.  

(Told you it's ugly! But boy is it good!) Let cool for at least 1 hour before serving with ice cream for Peach ala Mode. It's very good cold with a big dollop of whipped cream. ;)