Streusel-Topped Peach Pie

I've had a few fresh, local peaches in the fridge leftover from canning last week, so today I decided to make a pie ('cause who doesn't like pie?!). However, I've been craving something sweet with a crunchy top, so instead of a top crust, I opted for a streusel topping. It. Was. Yummy!

Here's the recipe:

(makes 8 servings - or 1 if you're not willing to share LOL)

10-12 fresh peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced
1/2 c flour
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c butter, divided
1 pastry for a 9" single crust pie (I used a Pillsbury prepared crust because I had one on hand)
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
1/2 c rolled oats
1 t cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To make the pie filling: In a medium bowl, gently mix together peaches, flour, and sugar. Set aside.

To make the streusel topping: In a small bowl, melt 1/4 c butter. Add brown sugar, oats, and cinnamon. Mix with a fork until well-combined. Set aside.

Gently place pastry in a 9" pie plate and finish the edge to your liking. Scoop the pie filling into the crust and dot the surface of the filling with the remaining 1/4 c butter.

Top the pie with the streusel.

Bake for 45 minutes or until topping is a light golden brown.

Enjoy!

Vanilla Peach Butter

Recently, a friend's mom gave me a huge bag of whole vanilla beans...for free! My mind instantly started wondering what I could make. My first vanilla bean adventure was Honey Vanilla Ice Cream, and it was fabulous. And over the last few weeks, since freestone peaches have come in season, I've been buying oodles of peaches! After I bought a 1/2 peck and a few of them got soft, I began thinking about canning them. So, my googling began. I wanted to make something with peaches and vanilla beans, and within only a few minutes, I came across a recipe for Vanilla Peach Butter. It sounded fabulous, so I decided to try it. The following week, I bought a 1/2 peck of #2 peaches - soft, bruised, or scratch-and-dent peaches for $4 (#1 peaches cost $9 for 1/2 peck). I knew I would be making this recipe, so the bruises and softness didn't really matter to me...they didn't need to be pretty!)

After I read through the recipe I found, I modified it slightly for my taste, and here's what I came up with:

(makes 11-12 half-pint jars)

1/2 peck peaches, washed & quartered (I left the peels on for extra color)
1 1/2 c sugar
1 t Kosher salt
2 vanilla beans, split

In a large, heavy pot, cook the peaches, sugar, and salt over low heat until the peaches are soft...almost mushy, about 5 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. To even out the consistency, mash the peaches with a potato masher.

Add the split vanilla beans, and continue cooking over low heat until the mixture has reduced to half its original volume. Continue stirring occasionally.

Once the mixture has reduced, remove the vanilla beans. Transfer the hot mixture to sterilized jars and process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes. If canning isn't your preferred method, cool the mixture and transfer to a freezer-safe container. Freeze up to 12 months.

Enjoy!

Honey Vanilla Ice Cream

Though it's not quite officially summer, Mother Nature is trying to prove herself a little early with ninety degree temps and a barely tolerable humidity levels. On days like these, I believe there's nothing better than a decadent bowl of ice cream. So when my brother and I were trying to decide what to do for Fathers' Day, I seemed like a no-brainer to make homemade ice cream! But what flavor?!

A few weeks ago, a friend brought me a quart-sized storage bag filled to the brim with whole vanilla beans from his mom...for free! So naturally, my first thought was to make vanilla bean ice cream. But then I started thinking...like I do! I wanted to serve the ice cream with some fresh fruit from the market, and peaches just happen to be in season. Since we were planning to have a cookout, the idea of grilled peaches seemed brilliant! I'm also very interested in using alternatives to refined white sugar, and I just happen to have a fair amount of local honey in the pantry.

So I Googled. I found a recipe for Honey Vanilla Ice Cream that sounded absolutely amazing and would work very well with grilled peaches! After reading some of the reviews for the ice cream recipe, I decided to make a few changes, and it turned out to be some of the best ice cream I've ever eaten!

Here's the recipe:

(makes 1.5 quarts)
2 c milk
1 vanilla bean
6 egg yolks
3/4 c brown sugar
1/2 c honey
1/4 t Kosher salt
2 c heavy cream

With a sharp knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise.

In a medium pan, heat the milk and vanilla bean to simmering, whisking occasionally to keep the milk from scalding. Do not boil.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, brown sugar, honey, and salt until light colored and frothy. While whisking constantly, very slowly combine the hot milk with the egg mixture. (You really will want to do this *very* slowly so you don't scramble the eggs! This is the part of making ice cream that requires patience!)

Once the milk and egg mixtures are combined, transfer the mixture back to the sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon. (Again, do not boil the mixture!) Remove from heat. Remove the vanilla bean from the mixture and scrape the beans into the milk mixture.

Strain custard into a large bowl through a fine mesh strainer, and stir in the heavy cream.

Cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours. (Putting the plastic wrap directly on top of the custard will prevent a film from forming on the top.)

Once the custard is cold, freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions.

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To grill peaches: Halve the peaches, removing the pit. Lightly sprinkle Kosher salt on the cut side of each half and place cut side down on a hot grill. Let the peaches hang out on the grill for 5-7 minutes. (Don't move them!) When the peaches have softened slightly and have a few good char marks on them, gently remove them from the grill. Serve warm.

Mangia Bene!