Perfect Peach Pie

This peach pie lets the fruit do the talking. Eight cups of sliced fresh peaches macerate in sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and cornstarch for half an hour before baking, which draws out the natural juices and creates a syrupy filling that thickens beautifully in the oven.

The crumb topping is made with a clever technique: butter and flour get worked together in a frying pan with quick pulses until the mixture resembles tiny peas. This gives you more control over the crumb size than using your fingers or a pastry cutter.

Lemon juice is the unsung hero here. It brightens the peach flavor and keeps the filling from tasting one-note sweet. Taste the filling before assembling and adjust the lemon and sugar to match whatever your peaches bring to the table.

Kitchen Tips

• Place the pie plate on a cookie sheet before it goes in the oven. Peach pies bubble over aggressively and you’ll save yourself a messy oven cleanup.
• Use ripe, fragrant peaches. If they don’t smell like peaches at the store, they won’t taste like peaches in the pie.
• To peel peaches easily, score an X on the bottom, blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds, then plunge into ice water. The skins slip right off.

Variations

• Add a handful of fresh blueberries to the peach filling for a peach-blueberry crumble pie.
• Swap cinnamon for cardamom for a more exotic spice note.
• Drizzle the cooled pie with a vanilla glaze made from powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract.