The Perfect Summer Dessert: Honey-Maple Spicy Peach Pie

I made a spicy peach pie this evening. I used maple sugar and honey since I don’t eat refined sugar. However, if you’d like to use regular sugar, just substitute 3/4 cup brown sugar for the maple sugar and honey—the rest of the recipe stays the same.

I’ve included pictures of the steps at the end of this posting. I love this pie. It is definitely a summer treat.

Spicy Peach Pie with a Latticed Top

Ingredients

Two deep dish pie shells

Filling

1/2 cup (packed) maple sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg or mace
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 pounds medium frozen peaches

Preparation

I use frozen pie crusts for this recipe. I admit it would be better with a homemade crust, but I haven’t perfected that art yet—and besides, this is much quicker. Take two frozen pie shells out and let them thaw. One will hold the filling; the other will be used to make a latticed top.

For filling:
Mix sugar (or maple sugar and honey), cornstarch, lemon juice, and spices in a large saucepan. Cook under medium heat, stirring until all ingredients are well combined. Then add three pounds of frozen peaches, coat with the cornstarch and honey mixture, and cook down until you can slice through the peaches with a spoon and see the two sides clearly divided. (Cooking down to this level ensures you won’t end up with a runny filling.)

Spoon filling into one of the pie shells. Cut strips in the other pie shell and arrange them on top, spacing 3/4 inch apart. Form a lattice by arranging more strips at a right angle to the first layer, again spacing 3/4 inch apart. Trim the overhang of bottom crust and lattice strips to 3/4 inch, then crimp the edge decoratively.

Top with a sprinkle of maple sugar and a dusting of cinnamon.

Bake until crust is golden and filling bubbles thickly—about 45 minutes to 1 hour—covering the edge of the crust with foil if it browns too quickly. Cool pie to room temperature before serving.

Here are the pictures of my process. The pie turned out beautifully—and delicious, too.

Let me know if you try this recipe. I love hearing how these honey/maple-sweetened desserts turn out for you.

Two Frozen Pie Shells