Saturday, July 16, 2011

Cinnamon Pie Filling



So, yesterday was about crust. Today is about filling. What's more important? Filling or crust? Preferably you want both of them to be great. I made peach and nectarine pie filling that can also be used as apple pie filling. Convenient. Convenient and easy.

Peaches and nectarines in the summer and apples in the fall.

The thing is that the filling I made has cinnamon in it. Lots of cinnamon. So, if you're into Cinnamon, you'll be into this pie filling. You might want to indulge and eat half the pie at once. Control yourself. You might want to eat a piece for breakfast and one for lunch and then another one as a mid afternoon snack and just one more around dinner time. Stay classy.

Dessert for dinner is totally allowed. At least where I live it is.

I kind of feel about dessert for dinner how other people feel about their religion. You know, God or Jesus helps them overcome obstacles? That's how I feel about dessert for dinner. If there are tough times, I know I can get through, because I'll still have dessert for dinner. It sort of helps me overcome problems. Carries me. I'm frequently thinking about it...  and I'm doing my best honor it. I'm not going to waver, as long as there is dessert for dinner.

I just re-read that and realized how weird it sounds. Alright maybe it's a little extreme. I do eat other things for dinner and enjoy them (other things, like this or this). But if I think back to the nights when I only had dessert to eat, I remember why I like sweets for dinner so much.

Back to the pie filling. You should totally make some, put it in this pie crust, bake it and eat it for dinner! Just stay classy and don't eat all of it. Maybe share some and have a dessert-for-dinner-party. Ohhh, I'm definitely going to have a dessert-for-dinner-party!

Here is how you make the cinnamon peach and nectarine filling.
Get your peaches and nectarines.
You'll need to get the skin off. There are two ways to do this. You can either use a peeler or you can dip the peaches and nectarines in boiling water for about a minute and then transfer them into a bowl with ice water. I didn't want to waste any extra fruit and went with the second option.
 Get a large slatted spoon and transfer the peaches and nectarines from the bowl with boiling hot water into the bowl with ice water.  

 Put the rest of your fruits into the hot water and wait for about a minute to allow for the fruits in the ice water to cool down. 

Take out the peaches and nectarines one at a time and, using a small sharp knife and your fingers, start pulling off the skin.
The riper the fruit, the easier this will be. If you get a tough one, repeat the hot and cold water bath step and let the fruit sit a little longer in each bowl. Then try peeling some more...

Cut the peaches and nectarines in half to remove the pits.
Now you'll have to cut all those naked peach and nectarine halves in slices. This will take a moment. But it'll be worth it. I promise. Because you'll want a very fruity filling. So, you'll have to sit through cutting up all those fruity filling slices.

But I digress.

When you have a large cutting board full of cut up peaches and nectarines, it's time to get the mix for the filling started.

Gather flour, brown sugar and white sugar, cornstarch, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Put all of it in a bowl as shown above. Start mixing. And just like with the pie crust, incorporate the butter into the flour and sugar mix. When you have a sort of doughy consistency, add the peaches and nectarines and keep mixing to create this sweet, cinnamon, gooey goodness.
Go to town. Make sure every piece is covered. Allow for the fruit to release some of the juices. 
And then ask someone to add a little molasses. Or you can wash your hands and do it yourself. The molasses will give it a bit of a caramel flavor. Caramel and Cinnamon. Oh, so good. Yes? Yes!
So, that's it. Transfer the filling into the pie crust and bake it.

The baking is a little tricky. Not really but a little. I realized that if you just bake the pie with this filling at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, the filling can be a little soupy. If that's your thing, go for it. I like it to look pretty when a slice goes on the plate. So, I would recommend baking it at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then turning the temperature down to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and baking it for another 30 to 35 minutes.

When the baking time is over, just let the pie sit in the oven. Turn the oven off but don't take the pie out. It'll be better that way. Trust me. I've done this before. You'll thank me later. Be patient. Let it sit in the oven. I know it smells delicious. Don't take it out yet! Seriously. You could take a picture if you want to get closer to the pie. Send me your picture. I would like to see your pie!


There is the dinner pie!
Have a slice for dinner. Do it and enjoy it!



Cinnamon Peach Pie Filling

- 10 fresh peaches or nectarines (or 5 of each), peeled, pitted, and cut into slices

- 1/3 of a cup of all purpose flour

- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch

- 1/2 cup of white sugar

- 1/2 cup of brown sugar

- 1/4 cup of butter

- about two table spoons of cinnamon

- 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

- 2 tablespoons of mollasses


Mix all the dry ingredient in a large bowl. Add the butter pieces and incorporate into the butter and flour mix.

Add the fruit slices and mix them up well until some of the juices are released and create a gooey sauce. 

Add the molasses and keep mixing. 

Pour into your pie shell, cover with pie crust and bake as described above at 450 degrees for 15 minutes and then for another 30 minutes at 350 degrees until golden brown. 



4 comments:

  1. Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks so great! I never know what to use for the filling, but now I do!! Thanks :D

    ReplyDelete