Cold Peach (or Berry) Pie

Peaches are one of my favorite fruits, especially when they can be eaten warm off the tree, dripping with juice, and practically melt in your mouth!

Short of that, the best way to get them, I think, is from someone who owns an orchard. That way, they're picked just short of ripeness (and ripen the rest of the way in your house)--instead of being picked green to send to the store. We bought a box of peaches from an orchard in Colorado a couple weeks ago and have been enjoying fresh, juicy peaches ever since. I don't think I could ever get tired of them! But we did have many that were ripening faster than we could eat them, so I decided to make a pie--but not a cooked one. Cold pies are so easy to make and so refreshing to eat on a hot, summer day. And in this recipe the only refined sugar is that found in the graham crackers. I remembered the fresh raspberry pies my mom used to make when I was growing up and figured the same thing could be done with peaches, so I asked for her recipe. Here are both variations:

Fresh Berry Pie

9” baked crust (or graham cracker crust*)
6 c. fresh, washed, destemmed berries
1 recipe berry glaze (see below)

Fill pie crust with berries. Pour glaze over top. Chill and serve.

Berry Glaze

1½ c. mashed berries
¼ c. frozen unsweeted apple juice concentrate, thawed
¼ c. frozen unsweetened apple-raspberry juice concentrate, thawed
2 Tb. cornstarch

Puree mashed berries until smooth (in blender).
In small saucepan, put pureed berries, juice concentrates, and cornstarch; stir until cornstarch is well blended.
Over medium heat, stirring constantly, heat to boiling. Mixture will become thick.
Cool and pour over berries in pie crust.
If this glaze is too thick, you will need to gently stir it into the berries so that the pie will hold together (don’t disturb the crust).

FRESH PEACH PIE VARIATION: Use the same recipe for peaches, but use mashed peaches instead of mashed berries for the glaze. And use all apple juice concentrate so it isn't red.


*Graham Cracker Crust

1/3 c. butter
(1/8 c. honey, optional--but it may help crust stick together better)
1 1/4 c. finely crushed graham crackers (about 18) (I use a blender to crush them)
Melt butter, stir in honey, if using. Add crushed crackers; toss to mix well.

Spread evenly into 9-inch pie plate (but this recipe makes enough for two pies the size of my pie plates). Press onto bottom and sides to form an even crust. Chill about 1 hour or until firm. (Or, bake in 375 degree oven for 4 to 5 minutes or until edge is lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack before filling.)