This Ginger Peach Biscuit Pie is filled with fresh peaches and ginger, and topped with slightly sweet cornmeal biscuits! This pie is just barely sweet, and perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!
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
Note on pie weights: Pie weights help when blind-baking a crust, helping to keep the dough from rising/getting bubbles as it bakes. This makes sure that you have the room that you need for filling. 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.Note on tapioca starch: Also known as tapioca flour, this ingredient thickens the filling so you don't end up with a watery mess. 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.Note on cornmeal: Using fine cornmeal will keep your topping from being gritty. I usually have to buy mine 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.Note on pastry blender: 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.Note on bowl scraper: I like 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.Note on biscuit cutter: I used a 2.25" biscuit cutter for my biscuits, like from this set here).