Crust:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup shortening
- 3 tablespoons cold water
Filling:
- 2 - 29 ounce cans of peaches
- 2 cups juice from the canned peaches
(add water to make 2 cups if necessary)
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
First prepare the crust. In a large bowl
combine the flour and salt. Add the
shortening, and mash it into the flour until
it is crumbly. Add 3 tablespoons water and
stir to combine. Now use your hands to press
everything together to try and form a ball
of dough. If it is too crumbly, then add
more water a little at a time. You may not
need any water. You may need another
tablespoon, maybe even more. Keep pressing
and gently kneading the mixture together
until you get a stiff pie dough. Rip off two
sheets of waxed paper. Place the ball of
dough between the sheets and flatten it some
with your hands. Use a rolling pin, or
sturdy bottle or jar to roll the dough out
between sheets of waxed paper. Work slowly
and diligently, trying to make a large
rectangle, a little bigger than your baking
pan (I use a 9 by 9-inch square pan, but a
2-1/2 quart casserole would also work very
well). It doesn't have to be perfect, so
just do your best and don't worry about it.
When you are done, set the dough (still
wrapped up in the waxed paper) aside while
you prepare the rest of the recipe.
Drain the juice from the canned peaches into
a measuring cup. If you have more than 2
cups of liquid, you can drink or discard the
extra (I put it in kool-aid usually). If you
don't have 2 cups of liquid, then add enough
water to make 2 cups.
In a very large saucepan, combine the
cornstarch, sugar and nutmeg. Gradually stir
in the peach liquid, and the lemon juice.
Stir to dissolve the cornstarch. Heat the
mixture over a medium flame, stirring very
frequently. You could even stir constantly,
if you had a mind to. Bring the mixture to a
boil and boil for at least a minute, or
until the mixture is very thick. Remove the
pan from the heat and gently stir in the
canned peaches. The mixture will thin out
some. Turn the thick peach filling into a
well oiled 2-1/2 quart casserole dish, or an
oiled 9 by 9-inch square pan.
Loosen the waxed paper on both sides of the
rolled out crust. Arrange it carefully on
top of the filling. Crimp the edges if you
have enough dough, otherwise, just let them
lay where they fall. Score the dough into 6
servings. Bake it at 425° for about an hour.
The top will be golden brown, the filling
will be bubbly, and it will be very hot.
Allow it to cool for a little bit before
serving. Great with whipped topping or
vanilla ice cream. This is a delicious way
to make a very elegant dish out of
inexpensive canned peaches.
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