day 10 - individual peach pies

The other day I made a quiche for dinner.  I thought about blogging about it here, I mean I did bake it, and it does use my my trusty pie crust recipe.  I decided that could be for another challenge... only savory baked items!  But... I digress.

Today I made pie using peaches I had prepped during the height of peach season.  When the peaches were fresh, I shocked them to remove the skins, then sliced them and tossed them with a combination of sugar and some spices.  I used a basic peach pie recipe from my all time favorite pie cookbook Farm Journal Pie Cookbook, seriously, if you like pies, go hunt through used book stores for this, last printing was 1960s. 

This morning I put my peaches into a saucepan, and turned it on low, I needed to cook down the peaches, both because they had been frozen, and as with any stone fruit it will release a lot of liquid when cooked, so you want to cook it before placed in a pie.  I had planned on making individual hand pies, and I did make 2 of them, however, a friend suggested I cook the pies in jars... why not?  I scoured my collection of canning jars and only found 3 that fit the necessary qualities... short and squat.  I gently pressed little bits of dough against the bottom and sides of the jar until the entire surface was covered.  I then rolled out a disc of dough to cover the surface once filled.  I filled the jars with peaches and placed the disc over the top.  I gently pressed the top to the glass jar to form a seal, and cut in small vent holes. 

With the peach filling remaining after making 3 pies in a jar, I made 2 hand pies.  For those I cut out a disc of dough about 6" in diameter.  On one half I put a mound of peach filling, being careful not to go too close to the edge.  I wet the edge of the dough with an egg wash, and gently pulled half of the dough over the filling and crimped the edges together.  I cut vent holes in these pies as well to allow the steam to escape.  All 5 pies were placed on a baking sheet to catch any juices that might spill over.  Before placing in the oven, brush the tops with an egg wash and sprinkle with extra sugar.  Bake in a 375* oven for about 40-45 minutes until bubbly.

Serve with a dolop of whip cream or vanilla ice cream.  A little taste of summer in the middle of winter.