There is almost NOTHING I like more by summer’s end than the taste of a fresh peach; slick , juicy and utterly satisfying. ( Okay, I also love Heirloom tomatoes and sweet buttered corn)!

However, when peaches  arrive, I arm myself with a paper towel in one hand and a sharp paring knife in the other, ready to attack the poor innocent fruit.

I have to admit I could easily slobber up three or four in one sitting.  I have already caught myself so engaged in the pleasure of eating peaches that I do not have any idea what goes on around me…nor do I care.

I have heard people talk of eating a whole bag of Oreo’s® in one sitting and frankly… it’s really hard for me to imagine.  I think by the sixth Oreo®, I am satiated on a  sugar high and almost sickened by the grease on my upper palate from the white cream filling. ( and I LIKE Oreo’s®)

On the other hand, a juicy peach is so addictive…so sublime, so fresh, sweet and clean on your tongue that I lose myself all together…I won’t even answer the phone if I am eating one, and I actually feel somewhat peeved when the phone rings after I have set out to consume this luscious fruit of the God’s.

I say to myself:  ” If it’s that important they will call back”.  I Do however make an exception for my daughter if she calls… she completely understands, even at age 9 what a peach means to me, because she is equally enamored with them…(and …of course watermelon!)

I purchased a peck of them two days ago and was waiting for them to get to their perfect ripeness.  The week before I purchased half a peck, but I ate 12 of them in less than a week and my daughter ate 6….there went the half peck!

Peach Pie is one of my husband’s favorite pies…next to Cherry Pie…and I thought about how adorable a mini version of a lattice-topped pie would look.  Last year I found some doll-sized pie tins on E-Bay, and a skillet and I decided to use all of the tins to make mini peach pies.

This recipe makes enough for the three sized tins I have shown here…so if you want more pies, just keep multiplying the ingredients by the number of pies you’d like to make.

You can use mini muffin tins ( like I did with the Strawberry Rhubarb Pies from a previous entry) or small tart tins as well…just be sure to fold the top crust UNDER the bottom crust so that the filling doesn’t bubble over and stick to the inside of your pie or tart tins.

Miniature Peach Pies

Your favorite pie crust ( or use Jiffy pie mix, or Pillsbury pre-rolled pie crusts from your grocer’s refrigerator-our store puts them near the butter)

2 large, ripe, juicy peaches, peeled with a paring knife and sliced thin, and then minced into tiny pieces

3 Tbls. granulated sugar

1 heaping tsp. flour

1 heaping tsp. cornstarch

a few drops of pure almond extract

a squeeze of lemon juice ( 5-10 drops)

Topping

one egg white + 1/2 egg yolk

granulated sugar or chunky clear sugar

Stir together the peaches, flour, cornstarch,  sugar, almond extract and lemon juice in a small bowl; set aside.

Roll out the pie dough slightly thinner than you would for a full-sized pie on a lightly floured surface..( these little pies bake in less time, so a crust that’s too thick may be underbaked even though the filling is done baking).

Using a Ramekin or the top of a small juice glass, make an indentation in the rolled- out pie dough to be slightly larger than the pie tin, tart tin or muffin tin. ( take into consideration the depth as well as the circumference-you want a bit of an overhang). Place the bottom crusts into the pans, taking care to press the dough down inside the pan and into the sides of the pan.

Cut the dough out using a pastry wheel or rotary pastry cutter using the thin blade attachment.You will need three plain rounds of dough for the bottoms of the pies for this recipe, plus three of the lattice tops ( see below).

Now using the same ramekin, Trace three more circles. Cut out three circles using a fluted cookie cutter or rotary pastry cutter fitted with a scalloped wheel.  Slice each of the top crust circles into several long thin strips, about 1/8 inch wide (  preferably 6- 8 strips per scalloped circle).

Divide the filling between the three pie tins ( you may have a little leftover)

Place one strip down the center of the pie and two more between the edges on each side.

Gently fold back the middle pie dough strip leaving the two sides down, and then place another strip under the dough that has been folded back and  over the two side strips.Fold the middle strip back over the strip you just placed down the middle.  Continue as shown, until you have used two strips, then turn the pie and do the other side the same way, alternating over/under.

Brush the lip of the pie with a bit of the beaten egg mixture, and then tuck the lattice strips under the lip of the pie, pinching slightly to seal.

Brush the strips with beaten egg mixture and sprinkle with sugar.

Place the pies on a cookie sheet covered with non-stick foil and place in a 375° oven for 30-35 minutes or until the juices are bubbling and the crusts are golden brown and caramelized.

Old fashioned Peach Ice Cream

When I was a young girl, we made ice cream the hard way…by cranking it in a barrel-looking ice cream maker.  It required making a creme′ Anglaise (custard) then  chilling it over an ice bath.  After that , it was put into the covered metal housing container and then the hopper ( paddle) was put inside. Then rock salt was layered with crushed ice and it was churned for about 40 minutes.  We usually did this on the fourth of July, when there was a party at our family’s Lake  house on Cayuga Lake. This meant that there were plenty of kids around to take turns turning the crank. Then the ice cream was scooped out into brightly-colored small fiestaware® bowls ( which my Mother gave me several years ago) When we ran out of the bowls, we used the coffee cups…somehow it just made the ice cream taste better!

Well…we no longer have that ice cream maker, but I have a friend who has a lot of EVERYTHING and I asked her if she had one…she DID!

So…I set about to make the ice cream with the plethora of peaches that I have had in my kitchen.

I won’t lie, that way of making ice cream was pretty complicated. I found this recipe in a vintage coobook that I purchased from an Antique store called ” Barzilla’s Barn” in Trumansburg New York, and the ice cream was fantastic…as are many things that were made in the vintage era!

Freeze the ice cream in an ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions…and while you’re at it, try the other flavors too!

So after I made the pie and ice cream, I took a slice and scoop to my daughter and she decided it was high time for a dessert picnic for her dolls and teddy bear.

So the Dolly and Teddy picked some wild flowers and set out their “pie picnic”

The vase is actually a small vintage perfume bottle, with miniature wild flowers from our garden

It was a beautiful sunny day and the sky was blue…there was a light breeze.  Dolly served Teddy one slice of pie and she had one slice of pie too.

After the dessert picnic, the Dolly put the pie in her pie safe for safe keeping…but later that night, the teddy bear woke up with a rumbly tummy and ventured into the kitchen to see if he could find it. He sliced a piece of pie and served himself a small scoop of peach ice cream…and he sat and stared at it for some time…he was on a bit of a diet since he had eaten so much honey at the end of fall and had put on a bit of weight from it all…he just could NOT decided if he should eat it.

The contemplation was more than he could bear ( no pun intended). So he decided to climb up on the table and eat a piece.

He picked up the piece of pie and brought it to his lap…

But the table was very uncomfortable, so he climbed back down and sat the pie in front of him.

He took a big whiff…Mmmmmm he thought…I guess I really can’t resist this warm pie…he drizzled some honey on the ice cream ..

And proceeded to polish off the whole piece.

He murmered to himself: ” Well…at least it contains three of the four food groups: fruit, dairy and grains!”

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