Plum and Peach Pie

I made this recipe while my family was in town.  We were staying in a rented townhouse with limited ingredients, so I had to make a few substitutions.  Some of these worked well, while others did not.  I threw in some lemon zest, which transformed the dish by adding just a touch of tartness.  I also replaced the cornstarch with flour.  Unfortunately, I substituted one to one, so there wasn’t enough thickening power.   The resulting pie was a wee bit soupy, but that didn’t stop everyone from gobbling it up in two days!

Peach and Plum Pie

adapted from Bon Appetit

I adjusted my pie dough recipe to use less butter and liked the resulting crust.  I wonder what would happen if I took away another Tablespoon or two?

Pie Crust
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
8 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup water

Directions:
1.  Put the  1 1/2 c flour, 1/4 tsp salt, and 8 Tbsp butter in a food processor.  Process for about 5 seconds.  Then add the 1/3 c ice water, and process for another 5 seconds.  The mixture should start to look like coarse breadcrumbs.

2.  Gather the dough into a ball, flatten it, and wrap it in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Filling
2 Pounds Peaches, cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 Pounds Plums, cut into 1/2 inch slices
Zest of half a lemon
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbsp cornstarch (or 6 Tbsp flour)
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place the fruit slices in a large bowl with a 1/2 c sugar and stir.  Let the fruit and sugar mixture sit, stirring occasionally, for an hour at room temperature.

3. After the hour has passed, strain the fruit and reserve 1/4 c of the liquid.

4. Whisk together the reserved liquid with the 3 Tbsp cornstarch and 1/4 tsp cinnamon.  Add the mixture to the fruit slices and stir to combine.

5. Roll out the pie dough and place in a pie pan.  Pour the fruit mixture into the pie dough

5. Bake the pie for 40 minutes.  Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and cook until the pie is bubbly and the crust is brown (up to another 40 minutes).

Nutritionals (8 Pieces): Cals: 298, Fat: 12, Carb: 46, Fiber: 3, Protein: 3