a peak: Where the Peaches Grow...

In honor of the Dad's birthday, I figured why not make a yummy peach pie? Better yet, why not make many yummy peach pies?

Joel Malone is an Aggie.

He's a fighter pilot.

He's a dad

A son.

A grandpa.

A husband.

Joel Malone is a ~~native~~ Texan.

Joel Malone is a Texan at heart.

*those are in no particular order...just saying*

Let's be honest, Dad. You may wear your wranglers, your boots, and your cowboy hat.... You may live in Cow Town at this moment. You may watch old westerns and you may know how to two step like a pro. In reality, though...

Joel Malone likes boiled peanuts.

Joel Malone is known to have had a Krystal burger once upon a time.

Joel Malone was born in Georgia.

I'm not saying that you're not a Texan, Dad. Don't you worry. You're as Texan as Texan can be. Texas is your home. But, you do like your boiled peanuts...and I am sure you like yourself some fresh peaches. So, in your honor, here's a little recipe for Mom to try out (or perhaps I'll whip some up for you when I visit in a couple weeks)!

Mini Peach-Filled Goodness,

Gracious, Amazing Pies.

For this recipe, you'll need 6 ramekins that can fit 3/4 cup of goodness in it. You can find these at any little store. I am sure you can even make these in a large muffin cup pan.

Once you have that, friends, you are ready to go, and believe me...you'll want to go and make these. They are incredible (especially with vanilla ice cream on top).

There are four steps to making ~~this pie~~ these pies. It will take a total of about an hour and a half, with 50 minutes of that being baking time.

Here are the four steps:

1. The pie crust

2. The filling

3. The topping

4. Assembly and baking.

Let's start with Step 1!

The Pie Crust

This pie crust is a bit different than ordinary pie crust. It is buttery and creamy and so good. Here is what you need.

Once you have that, pull out a mixer, the paddle attachment, and get started.

When butter is at a cool-room temperature, cut it into pieces.

Put those pieces into your mixer. Set your mixer on high.

Real high.

Beat for about 2 minutes, until soft and creamy.

Turn your mixer down to low and slowly pour in the milk.

I poured in half, beat it for a while, then poured in the other half.

Once it starts to incorporate you'll want to put on high.

You may need to put goggles on for this.

Or put on the handy dandy plastic cover if you have a kitchenaid.

While the mixture is getting buttery, creamy, and frosting-like mix together all the dry ingredients (sugar, salt, and flour).

Then, with the mixer on low, gradually put in the flour mixture.

Put in about 1/3.

Let it get incorporated.

Then the other 1/3.

And so on.

Once all of it is combined wait to take out the dough until it looks like this...

In case you can't tell, the dough is in a big clump on the paddle. It has completely cleaned off the sides of the bowl. This means it is ready! Take out the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface.

Knead it just a couple times.

Separate into 2 equal parts.

Make each part into about a 1 inch thick disc.

Tightly secure with plastic wrap.

Place in the fridge for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.

It can also stay in the freezer for up to about 2 weeks.

Whenever you are ready to use it, just let it thaw out in the fridge over night.

While the dough is in the fridge, you can get going to Step 2!

The Filling

I decided to use a peach filling. Later on, I also made some with blueberries. You can do any fruit you would like! Just exchange it for the peaches. Here is what you need for the peach filling:

Once you have your ingredients, you will first want to pit, peel, and dice up the peaches into 1/4 inch cubes.

Then, you'll simply want to take the other three ingredients, and dump them into the bowl!

Gently mix it up to combine, then set aside.

Now, you are ready for to get Step 3 ready!

The Topping

The topping makes this dessert more into a cobbler than a pie. It's the crumbly goodness that all people love on pies. Here is what you need...

All you have to do for this is make sure the butter is very soft and cut up, put all the ingredients into a bowl, and use your hand or a fork to crumble up and combine....because I love cinnamon, I always add a bit more. You can do what you want on that though :)

By now, 30 minutes have definitely gone by and you are ready to assemble these things!

Assembly and Baking

First things first, preheat that oven to 350.

Put the rack on the lower third of the oven.

Then, take out 6 ramekins and spray a whole lotta' Pam on it.

Or you could butter the insides of the ramekins and lightly dust it with flour.

I find the Pam to be much less messy and easier to do.

Place the Pam sprayed ramekins on a cookie sheet.

Now, finally, take out that pie dough from the refrigerator.

Depending on how long you had it in there, it may be a little hard and need some time to soften.

Use your discretion on that one.

I let mine soften a little bit, then unwrapped one of them and rolled it out on a lightly floured surface. I wanted the dough to be rolled out to be about 1/8 inch thick.

Then, I took a bowl from our cabinet that measured 6 inches across the diameter, grabbed a knife, and made "cookie" cuts. Each disc should be able to make 3 circles.