Peach meet Jack Daniel's! Jack Daniel's, this is Peach! Peach and whiskey crumble pie

I must admit that, although my last pie was delicious and I did eat it all within the span of 5 days, it was not perfect. I had followed the lovely Smitten Kitchen's recommendation of upping the amount of tapioca to create a pie that was perfectly set. Oh yes, it was definitely set. I think the problem was that the fruits I used were just not juicy enough for a 1/4 cup of tapioca (seems like overkill if you ask me). There was an absence of pie juices at the end because the pearls had soaked it all up! The texture of the pie thus had a pearly finish. Interesting. Delicious, but interesting. Not quite what I was going for. I ate the whole pie nonetheless (Do I act like the type of girl who would let a homemade pie go to waste? Hell no!).

Five days later, I am left with a void in my life where the pie once was. Sadness. I miss you pie! I should have savored the moment with you. I must make another. In the spirit of my purist ways, I settle on one fruit for my next pie: peaches since it is peach season (enjoy them while you can!). I adore peaches and nectarines. I eat them plain, or with some cheese, cheddar or blue. I even add them to salads, like this one with goat cheese.

Having selected the peach as my fruit of choice, I wondered if I could booze up the pie a little by adding in some bourbon. I'm not a bourbon drinker, in fact, I'm not even sure what bourbon tastes like, but I still have a hunch that when bourbon meets peach in my future pie, they will hit it off and it will be spectacular! I have an email discussion with Lynn, and we decide that it will be a delicious combination! The only problem: the SAQ (Société des Alcools du Québec) doesn't sell bourbon. They do sell whiskey (Jack Daniel's), which they claim is the same thing. Even though I am no expert, I know they are wrong. Bloggers like this guy would agree that not all whiskeys are bourbons although all bourbons are whiskeys (confused much?). In any case, Jack Daniel's is not quite bourbon. Oh well. It's all good! Peach is flexible and willing to meet Jack Daniel's.





So, after much deliberating, I decide on a peach and whiskey crumble pie. My pie crust is made from the leftover scraps of dough from my previous pie (see Smitten Kitchen for recipe). I blind-bake the crust to avoid a soggy-bottomed pie. Meanwhile, I make a filling of chopped peaches, brown sugar, vanilla and Jack Daniel's. I use tapioca as a thickener (1/8 cup tapioca this time) and I let them mingle while I'm blind-baking the crust. I top the baked crust with the syrupy fruit and pile on the crumble topping (with oats for added nutrients!). I bake it et voilà! I had one small issue with this pie: because I was using scraps of dough to create my crust, the crust did not quite come to the top of my deep-dish pie plate. The juices overflowed a little in the oven, making serving a slice a little complex. I managed to get one photo for this posting, but I guess I'll just have to eat the rest straight out of the pan. Life is tough.





I'm not going to lie: this pie is pretty boozy! Not for the faint of heart. It's like peach pie for adults. Pretty delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, if you ask me. Next time, I might use dark brown sugar to get a bolder caramel flavor.

And so, Peach met Jack Daniel's and they lived happily ever after... in my pie.







Peach and whiskey crumble pie

Makes a 10-inch pie

1 10-inch pie shell
Filling

7 cups chopped peaches (approximately 7 large peaches)
3/4 cups light brown sugar
1/4 cup Jack Daniel's
1.5 tsp vanilla
1/8 cup instant tapioca
2 tbsp cold butter, cubed
Crumble topping

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup butter (cubed and frozen)
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Blind bake the crust for about 30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown (be sure to use pie weights or rice to prevent the center of crust from puffing too much).
While the pie crust is baking, combine the peaches, brown sugar, Jack Daniel's, vanilla and tapioca in a medium mixing bowl. Mix well, and stir it every 5 minutes to ensure the fruit are evenly coated.
Prepare the crumble topping by combining all the ingredients in a separate bowl, and quickly incorporating the frozen butter with your finger tips. Continue until you obtain a coarse, even mixture.
Remove the crust from the oven to cool slightly and reduce the oven temperature to 375ºF.
Fill the baked crust with the soaked peaches and the syrup. Dot with bits of butter. Top with the crumble mixture.
Bake for 60 minutes until the topping is golden and the syrup is bubbling hot.
Let cool and enjoy with a scoop of ice cream.