Today’s post is written by fellow author and dear friend, Catherine Castle. I’m looking forward to making this peach pie and reading her newest novel. Welcome, Catherine!

I’m going say upfront that although I like pie, it’s not a dish I serve at our house much due to dietary constraints. But when I was first married, pie was a regular addition to the dinner table. My husband loved lemon meringue pie, and I learned to make a pretty good one, if I do say so myself. Today any pie I bake, or eat, leans toward fruit pies that are lightly sweetened, if at all. (Remember those dietary constraints I spoke about.)

So, imagine my surprise when Chip Vandermere, the hero of my newest book, Bidding on the Bouquet, decided he loved pie—any kind of pie. Having just done some research about pies and their role in Early American weddings (they were the original wedding dessert of choice back then), Chip’s pie fetish became a recurring motif in the new book.

Suddenly, I found myself writing about this sweet dessert, and craving it. To help alleviate that craving, and provide a valid reason for baking, I decided to include Chip’s love of pies in the book’s promotions. The first result of that decision is an original recipe I named Emelia’s Spiced Peach Pie.

Chip’s housekeeper, Emelia, is a pie baker extraordinaire and the one person in his home to whom he can spill his heart. For Chip, a slice of Emelia’s pie is a comfort, a reward, and a little piece of heaven. When Emilia begins to play matchmaker between Chip and a pie-loving young lady Chip suspects of being a gold digger, their shared love of pie becomes an irritation. Face it, what other reason would a down-and-out-on-her-luck girl want to bid for a bridesmaid spot in his sister’s wedding, if not to worm her way into the life of the rich and famous Vandermeres?

Emelia’s Spiced Peach Pie

© 2018 Catherine Castle

Ingredients:

• One, 2-crust pie pastry, homemade or store bought
• 7 cups sliced peaches, fresh or frozen, thawed
• ¼ sugar
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 Tbs. cornstarch
• 1 Tbs. finely minced orange peel. Remove the white membrane from the peel before mincing.

Directions:

• In a large bowl, sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over peaches and mix well.
• Combine cinnamon, nutmeg, cornstarch and orange peel in a small bowl and add to peaches, mixing well.
• Place bottom crust in a glass pie pan and pat against the sides and bottom of the pan.
• Pour peaches onto crust and arrange evenly in the pan.
• Trim bottom crust leaving pastry about ½ inch from the edge of the pie pan.
• Top with second crust, turning top crust under bottom crust. Crimp or flute crust edge as desired, making sure you have sealed the two crusts together to prevent leakage.
• Cut several slits in top crust to allow steam to escape.
• Cover the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
• Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees.
• Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake pie for 70 minutes longer or until crust has browned and filling is bubbly.
• Remove pie from oven, take off aluminum foil strips, and let pie cool completely before slicing. This pie will cut better after is has been refrigerated.

Note: If you prefer a juicer pie, let the peaches sit after sugaring them, stirring several times, until juice has formed in the bottom of the bowl. If you do this you may want to protect the bottom of your stove from filling leakage.

-Catherine Castle

About the Author:

Multi-award-winning author Catherine Castle loves writing, reading, traveling, singing, theatre, and quilting. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances. You can find her books The Nun and the Narc, A Groom for Mama, Bidding on the Bouquet  and Trying Out for Love boxed set on Amazon. Connect with Catherine on her website: website, Facebook, and Twitter  @AuthorCCastle.

Buy link for Bidding on the Bouquet on  Amazon.