Vegan Peach Pie

About a week ago, I got a hankering to make pie.  No specific pie... I just really wanted to make pie.  I was at my mom's house and she had Food Network on.  I always have Food Network on too.  Maybe this is hereditary?  The Neelys caught my eye when I saw they were making a Peach Crumb Pie.  Now tell me that doesn't sound fantastic.

The Vegan and the Coach's Wife came over for dinner this week, so I thought it would be the perfect time to make pie.  Come on, we know if I made a pie with no company coming over I'd eat that whole dang thing myself... minus the one piece Drew would eat.  The only thing I had to do now was veganize the pie. 

This turned out to be super easy because the only animal product called for in the recipe was butter.  I just subbed Earth Balance and called it a day.  The Neelys used a store-bought pie crust, but I made my own vegan version.

Peach pie a la mode vegan.

It wasn't the best peach pie ever made.  My peaches weren't super ripe and the crust was a bit crunchy.  Plus, I'm totally a pie novice.  But for a vegan dessert, I think it turned out pretty nice.

I ♥ Pie.

Drew's response was "meh."  But these girls seemed to enjoy the pie... although it may have been due to the large quantities of sangria already consumed.

Cheers!  Pie!

I made a comment about how I thought pie crust was kind of an art, and Jana smacked me down by saying, "My eigth graders can make it."  Noted.  Now I know when Jana talks about her eigth grade cooking skills that those are some pretty advanced eigth graders.  At least in my book.

Vegan Peach Crumb Pie

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 5 large, ripe but firm peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced (3 pounds)
• 3/4 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Topping:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice
• Pinch salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter Earth Balance, cut into small cubes
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds

Pie:

• 1 roll store-bought pie dough 1 Recipe No Fail Vegan Pie Crust
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter Earth Balance, thinly sliced (It doesn't really slice)

Method:

• Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• To make the filling: In a large bowl, combine the peaches, sugar, and cinnamon. Add the cornstarch to a small bowl and whisk in the lemon juice so no lumps remain (I used the juice of a whole lemon and then still needed to add some cold water to thin out the cornstarch). Pour the cornstarch mixture over the peaches and toss. Let the peaches sit for 15 minutes while you roll out the pie dough and make the streusel topping.
• To make the topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and salt in a large bowl. Blend the butter Earth Balance into the mixture with your fingers until it forms pea-size lumps and looks crumbly (the Earth Balance totally melted and the mixture was more of a paste, but it still baked up crumbly). Stir in the almonds.
• To assemble: Roll out the dough an extra inch on a lightly-floured surface. Place the dough in the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan. Crimp edges as desired.
• Pour the pie filling into the pie shell and sprinkle the streusel topping over the pie. Dot the top with sliced butter Earth Balance. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before serving.

You're sure to make lots of vegan friends with this pie!  But don't expect your husband to jump for joy.