oh, this pie.

i have been waiting for & drooling over this pie for the better part of a year.  because, you see, when i found the recipe for this pie, it was the end of peach season last summer and there was just not enough time.  & offseason peaches are about the most flavorless things around, making september-june a no go.

so this pie had to wait.

& then in january, while making chicken pot pie, i thought “how kick ass would a sweet version of this crust be with that peach & crème fraîche filling????”  but still, it had to wait.

well, finally, FINALLY! the peaches ripened and oh. my. gah.  this pie.

had to be given away before the two of us ate it all by ourselves.

the crème fraîche, mixed with the peaches, turns into a delicious sort of rich custard, topped withstreusel & held together by the tangy cream cheese pastry crust….yum.

adapted from smitten kitchen & annie’s eats (makes one pie)

FOR THE CRUST
16 oz butter, very cold & cut into 16 pieces
3 cups all purpose flour
10 oz cream cheese, chilled
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

FOR THE STREUSEL (every pie is better with streusel)
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
3 to 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cold (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

FOR THE FILLING
4 to 5 medium peaches, pitted and cut into wedges
4 tablespoons sugar
pinch of salt
5 tablespoons crème fraîche

1.  preheat the oven to 375°.  to make the crust, cut the butter into 16 pieces.  in the bowl of a large food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the butter and flour until crumbly.  add the cream cheese, salt and sugar.  continue pulsing just until the dough forms a ball.  transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface i.e. countertop.  use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out to about ¼-inch thickness.  line the bottom of your pie pan with the dough, cut off the excess & crimp (probably better than i can).

2.  in a small bowl, stir together confectioners’ sugar, baking powder, salt & 3 tablespoons of the flour.  add the pieces of cold butter and work the mixture together until it forms a coarse crumb using a pastry blender, a fork, or even your hands.  add additional flour if the mixture looks too wet & buttery.  set this aside.

3.  in another bowl, sprinkle the peaches with sugar & salt.  let this all sit for 10 minutes.  spread 2 tablespoons of crème fraîche on the bottom of the pastry shell.  sprinkle 1/3 the streusel over the top.  assemble the peaches on top of the streusel, then dot the remaining 3 tablespoons of crème fraîche evenly on top of the peaches.  sprinkle with remaining streusel.  bake for 50 minutes, until bubbling & golden brown, covering the edges of the crust with foil if they start to get too brown.  let set for 15 minutes before serving.

now go get those peaches while they are FRESH!!!!