Min Miller's Peach Sour Cream Pie

This is written by my good friend, Marcia Miller, and is a tribute to the mom she so clearly adored:

My Mom’s maiden name was Marilyn Minton but everyone called her Min (or Minnie if you were my Dad). Originally from Wilmington, a small town in Southern Ohio, she is probably best remembered for her intelligence, wit, love of the arts, music and politics, but one of my favorite memories is simply her Peach Sour Cream Pie. It evokes memories of warm summer evenings in our backyard in suburban Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

We had a huge Sugar Maple tree that formed a canopy over our entire backyard, and it was there that we enjoyed long summer evenings filled with laughter and conversation. Peach Sour Cream Pie was always the ending to delicious summer meals with friends…corn on the cob dripping in butter, fresh yellow and green beans from the Farmer’s Market that my sister’s and I snapped into the kitchen sink as our way of “helping.”

As a special Father’s Day treat, this pie is so rich and delicious in its simplicity. It was a favorite of my Dad’s and I’m sure he misses it as much as I do. Not one of his three daughters has been able to master the art of my Mom’s flaky crust or perfect blending of the creamy and sweet cinnamon-scented filling. As our friend Tiffani reminded me, the added bonus of pie-making day was the cinnamon sugar roll-ups of leftover dough scraps that my Mom would bake in the oven. These tasty treats kept my sisters and me satisfied while we waited for the pie to appear after dinner.

To my friend and favorite culinary master: I know you will add your special Mary Anne touch to this recipe and share it with all of your “Feast on the Cheap” followers to enjoy for years to come. Thanks for sharing it and keeping my Mom’s memory alive.

As summer approached, Marcia had begun talking about her mom’s incredible Peach Pie and how much she misses it now that her mother is no longer with her. I asked Marcia if she or her sisters might be able to locate the prized recipe so that I could attempt to replicate it.

As I’m certain no rendition is ever as amazing as ”Mom’s”, the result was incredible and unlike any Peach Pie I’ve tasted before. The sour cream prevents this pie from being cloyingly sweet, as so many are, and the sprinkling of sugar on the lattice crust gives it a delectable crunch. Most of your senses will be rewarded with this pastry as the peaches are aromatic, their texture is silky, and the crust will melt in your mouth!

Peaches are in season in the Southland right now and not only make a sensational pie, but these Southern beauties, when grilled, are spectacular in a salad or cooked into a chutney as a side dish for meats and poultry.

Marcia’s mom made her pie crust with shortening. As it’s no longer considered a healthful choice, I suggest you prepare my (dubiously) healthier option.

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Min Miller’s Peach Sour Cream Pie
Serves 8

Ingredients for a Basic Pie Crust:
2 ½ cups flour – stock
1 teaspoon salt – stock
1 teaspoon sugar – stock
2 sticks sweet butter (16 Tablespoons), sliced – stock
½ cup ice water

Ingredients for the Filling:
7-8 Georgia Peaches, (2 ½ lbs.) peeled and sliced – $3.72
*Note: To peel the peaches easily, bring a large pot of water to boil. Drop 2 or 3 peaches at a time into the water and allow to cook for 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, transfer them to an ice water bath. The peaches are so much easier to peel using this method. Simply prick their boiled skins with a paring knife and the skin just falls away.
1 c. sugar – stock
1/4 t. salt – stock
5 T. flour – stock
8 oz. sour cream – $1.39

Ingredients for the Lattice Topping:
1/4 t. cinnamon – stock
2 T. sugar – stock
Grand Total Assuming Stocked Pantry: $5.11
Per Serving: 0.64

Pie Crust Directions:
1. Arm the food processor with its metal blade and pour in all of the Pie Crust ingredients, except the ice water. Press pulse for about 10 seconds or so, until the dry ingredients appear like coarse meal.

2. Slowly, through the feed tube, drizzle the iced water while simultaneously pressing the pulse button. This step is critical – don’t over mix the dough as it will quickly toughen. You want to “pulse” it just until it holds together.

3. Lay a piece of plastic wrap on the counter and turn the dough out onto it. Separate into 2 equal-size amounts. With very gently pressure, first form the mixture into a ball, then using the flat of your hands press it into a flat disc. Remember, the less you handle and maul the pie dough, the flakier the result.

4. Wrap the plastic around the disc and refrigerate it for one hour. *(You can refrigerate it up to three days before or freeze it for a month. I often will double or quadruple the recipe, freezing several crusts at once so that I always have a supply for last minute pies.)

5. On a floured counter top roll out the pastry to fit a nine-inch pie plate. You need about a one-inch overhang for crimping/fluting the edges. Transfer the rolled out dough to the pie plate.

6. Roll out the second disc in the same manner. Transfer the pastry to a cookie sheet that you have lined with waxed or parchment paper. Cut the pastry into 12 strips, approximately ½ inch wide. Place in the fridge until the filling is prepared and poured into the prepared shell.

7. Lay the first 6 strips horizontally across the top of the pie. Beginning at one end and using the next 6 strips of pastry, lay the first strip across the pie vertically. Now lift and weave the strip through the first layer of strips, creating a “woven, lattice” pattern. Repeat with remaining strips to cover the pie. Crimp the edges of the bottom crust with the latticed top crust.

8. Sprinkle with the topping in the recipe.

Filling and Lattice Directions:
1. Blend all of the Filling ingredients together. Transfer to the prepared pie crust and cover with the Lattice Topping ingredients.

2. Cover just the edge of the pie crust with foil. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then 350 degrees for 40 minutes until firm and brown. Remove the foil in the last 10 minutes of baking.

3. Be certain that the pie really does feel firm to the touch when finished. The flour acts much the way cornstarch or arrowroot does, thickening the sour cream, and the filling should not be runny but has an almost pudding-like consistency.