I *finally* got Lisa Ludwinski's book, Sister Pie! I usually find inspiration in baking books, and take parts and pieces of recipes and make something new. This book, though, is all kinds of innovative all on its own! (AND Sister Pie hails from Detroit!) <3 After I paged through her book, I had over TWENTY recipes on my "must bake" list. Of them: this Ginger Peach Biscuit Pie!
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I mean, just the name 'Ginger Peach Biscuit Pie' is intriguing. The combination of flavors and textures with the peaches, ginger, and cornbread biscuit topping (whaaaaat?) is amazing! Just barely sweet, this pie is excellent with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Now, I didn't leave the recipe completely alone...I am still me, after all. I used my own pie crust recipe. It's still 100 degrees in Texas and I couldn't bring myself to attempt an all-butter pie crust. I also halved the biscuit recipe and cut it into rounds. Every time I saw someone making this pie, they simply spread the biscuit dough over the top of the entire pie. You can, too, but cutting the dough into rounds satisfied my need for my bakes to be neat and orderly. *shrugs*
The crust needs to be blind-baked before adding the peach filling. Pie weights help during this process! You can buy actual pie weights if you'd like (like these here), but I just use black beans. They're cheap and you can use them over and over again.
I used a few specialty tools to help with making the biscuits. While a pastry blender isn't necessary to cut in the butter, it does make the job faster and easier. If you're looking to buy one for yourself, you can find one here.
I also used a bowl scraper to work the biscuit dough because it's flexible shape makes the job much easier, and keeps your hands warming the dough as it comes together. It keeps your hands cleaner, too--this is some sticky stuff! A bowl scraper easy to store and easy on the wallet! If you'd like to buy one for yourself, you can find one here.
I used a 2.25" biscuit cutter for my biscuits, like from this set here.
As far as ingredients go, they're pretty straightforward. The filling is thickened using tapioca starch, also known as tapioca flour. In a pinch you can substitute ⅓ cup cornstarch, but I've found that it doesn't work as well. If you can't find tapioca starch in your local grocery store, you can find it here.
Using fine cornmeal will keep your cornmeal biscuits from being gritty. I usually have to buy it online because my local grocery store tends to carry medium and coarsely ground cornmeal. If you're interested in getting yourself some, you can find it here.
I think this pie is the last hurrah for summer at my house! The weather definitely isn't changing anytime soon here in Texas, but the flavors of autumn are calling to me (fall minus 11 days)! I hope you have one last peach pie planned before pumpkin takes over the world! 😉
Other posts you may like:
Adapted from Sister Pie (link here).
Ginger Peach Biscuit Pie
Ingredients
Single Pie Crust:
- 1½ cups flour
- 10 tablespoon vegetable shortening, cold and diced (½ cup + 2 Tbsp)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 3 tablespoon water, cold
Ginger Peach Filling:
- 2 lbs ripe peaches, in ½" slices (no need to peel!) (about 6 cups)
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger, packed
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ cup tapioca starch (see note)
- ¼ cup sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- pinch salt
Biscuit Topping:
- ¾ cups flour
- ⅔ cup fine cornmeal (see note)
- 3 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- pinch salt
- 5 tablespoon unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
- ½ cup buttermilk, cold
- raw sugar, for sprinkling (if desired)
- 2 tablespoon cream cheese, at room temperature
Instructions
For Crust:
- In a medium bowl, combine flour and cold, diced vegetable shortening. Using a pastry blender (see note) or fork, cut shortening in until no large pieces remain.
- In a small bowl, combine egg, vinegar, and cold water. Whisk to combine.
- Make wells in the flour mixture, and pour the egg mixture into the wells. Stir until a soft dough is formed. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly into a ball.
- Roll dough to fit the bottom of your pie plate, ensuring that you don't stretch the dough (as this will cause it to shrink when baked). Dock the dough with a fork. Place the crust in the refrigerator while the oven preheats.
- Preheat your oven to 375° F. Line the chilled crust with foil, making sure to cover the edges, and fill with pie weights (see note). Bake for 25 minutes, then fold the foil up around the pie weights so that the edges of the pie are exposed to brown.
- Return pie to the oven and bake another 10 minutes, or until edges are golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
For Filling:
- In a large bowl, toss the sliced peaches, ginger, and lemon juice. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the tapioca starch (see note), sugar, brown sugar, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Pour the sugar mixture over the peaches and gently toss to combine. Set aside.
- Gently spread the cream cheese in the bottom of the baked and cooled pie crust. Pour the peaches on top.
For Biscuits:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal (see note), brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add the diced butter, tossing to coat in the dry ingredients. Using forks or a pastry cutter (see note), cut in the butter until no large pieces remain.
- Add the buttermilk and stir with a silicone spatula until buttermilk has been absorbed. Then, switch to a bowl scraper (see note) to work the dry ingredients from the bottom of the mixture until the mixture comes together into a dough.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Pat dough out to about ½" thickness. Using a biscuit cutter (see note), cut the dough into rounds. Ensure that you don't twist the cutter as you do, as this may impede the biscuits from rising!
- Place the cut biscuits on top of the peaches, ensuring that there is some space between (doesn't have to be much) so that steam can escape during baking. Sprinkle the tops of the biscuits with raw sugar, if desired.
- Place the pie on a sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325° F and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes, or until juices in the center of the pie bubble and biscuits are evenly browned.
- Allow pie to sit for at least 6 hours before slicing (you can do it)! Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is only an estimate.
Donna
Amazing!