PEACHY KEEN PIES

Raspberry season whizzes by, Bing cherries are here today and gone tomorrow, blueberries appear sporadically throughout the summer, but peaches --now there`s a fruit to savor all summer long.

The season begins in mid-May and lasts into September, with peaches arriving first from California and Georgia and then, following the summer sun, as far north as New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Michigan. So there`s no rush; you still have a couple of months to make peach cream pie, peach turnovers and a double-crust peach pie.

Beauty in peaches is more than skin deep. If peaches have been bruised in shipping or handling, they will rot where they have been bruised. It is easy to avoid ripe peaches that already show bruised brown spots, but unripe peaches can fool you because their bruises -- which will turn into those soft, brown spots -- won`t appear until the peach ripens.

Look for peaches that have been carefully packed and shipped in one or two cushioned layers and are displayed and sold from those cartons. Beware of the three-foot-deep bin of peaches in which the fruit has probably been dumped. Those are the peaches that are often bruised.

The under color, rather than the red blush, indicates whether a peach has been picked at its prime. The ripest peaches have a creamy to deep yellow under color, rather than immature green. Best of all, if you live near an orchard or can visit a farmers market, buy those tree-ripened peaches with their wonderful peach fragrance.

Sometimes even the most beautiful peaches are mealy and dry inside. This happens when a peach variety is picked too late in the season or has been stored too long. Try to choose the freshest varieties as they appear throughout the season. With more than 30 commercial varieties of peaches coming into markets, there are new ones to pick from every few weeks. I have found that even the ultra-sweet and juicy white peaches are dry and tasteless toward the end of their summer season.

If a recipe calls for peeled peaches, blanch the peaches in boiling water for about 30 seconds, then use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a bowl filled with ice cubes and water. As soon as the peaches are cool enough to handle, pierce the skin with the tip of a sharp knife and the skin will slip off easily.

Early season peaches are usually the clingstone type, which have pits that hold onto their pulp. These peaches must be cut away from the pit. As the summer progresses, freestone peaches, which have pits that separate easily from their pulp, become available.

Peaches have so much juice that peach pies need to be thickened slightly. I use flour as a thickening agent and add just enough so that the pie filling holds together when the pie is sliced.

PIE CRUST

1 cup flour

1/3 cup cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening

3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Process flours, salt and sugar in food processor just until blended. Add cold butter and shortening and process, using about 6 on/off turns, until mixture forms pea-sized lumps. With machine running, add 3 tablespoons water and process until large moist clumps form and dough holds together. If dough is too dry, add more water by teaspoonfuls.

Gather dough into ball. Flatten into disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour before rolling. (Dough can be prepared 2 days ahead and refrigerated.)

Roll dough out on lightly floured work surface to round about 4 inches wider than bottom of buttered 9-inch pie pan. Press dough into prepared pan. Trim edge, leaving 1/2-inch overhang. Crimp edge. Freeze 15 minutes before baking. Makes 1 pie crust.

Note: Double ingredients to make 2 pie crusts.

TWO-CRUST CINNAMON-SUGAR TOPPED PEACH PIE

This classic two-crust pie is loaded with peaches and has a crunchy sugar and cinnamon topping on the top crust. The flaky crust is mixed quickly in a food processor. Peach or raspberry ice cream makes a good accompaniment.

Filling:

6 cups (about 3 pounds) peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup flour

Crust:

2 cold 9-inch pie crusts (double above recipe)

1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons whipping cream for egg wash

1 tablespoon sugar mixed with 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon for sprinkling on top of crust

Position rack in bottom third of oven.

To prepare Filling, in large bowl, stir peaches, sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon and flour. Set aside.

To prepare Crust, on lightly floured surface, roll 1 disk of dough into circle 4 inches wider than bottom of pie pan. Roll up dough circle loosely over rolling pin and transfer to buttered 9-inch pan. Trim edges that overhang to 1/2 inch. Spoon peach filling into pie crust, mounding slightly toward center.

Roll remaining piece of dough into 12-inch circle. Drape crust over filling. Trim overhang to meet edge of bottom crust. Press edges of both layers of dough together to seal. Use fork to press sealed trimmed crust onto rim of pan. Leaving edges plain, brush top of pie with egg wash. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over top of pie. Cut 4 (2-inch) slits in top crust.

Bake at 400 degrees 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and continue baking until top crust is lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Cool thoroughly.

Serve at room temperature. (Covered pie can be stored at room temperature overnight, then uncovered and warmed in oven at 275 degrees about 15 minutes to freshen it.) Makes 8 servings.

PEACH TURNOVERS

Everyone gets their personal peach pie when you serve them turnovers. By using store-bought puff pastry, the turnovers assemble quite quickly.

2 cups (about 1 pound) peeled, pitted peaches, chopped into 3/4-inch pieces

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 tablespoons flour

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (1/2 of 17 1/4-ounce package), thawed

1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons whipping cream for egg wash

In medium bowl, stir together peaches, 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon and flour. Set aside.

On lightly floured surface, roll out puff pastry sheet to 12-inch square. Cut pastry into 4 (6-inch) squares. Leaving 1/2-inch plain edge, spoon about 1/2 cup peach filling evenly over each square. Brush exposed edges of dough lightly with water. Fold 2 opposite corners together to form triangle. Press edges together to seal.

Place turnovers 2 inches apart on baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Use fork to press edges together to seal tightly. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle tops with remaining 2 teaspoons sugar, using about 1/2 teaspoon for each. Cut 2 slits in top of each turnover.

Bake at 400 degrees until tops are lightly browned, about 18 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to rack to cool.

Serve at room temperature. Or, cool about 20 minutes, then serve warm. (Turnovers are best served day they are baked.) Makes 4 turnovers.

BAKED PEACH CREAM PIE

Sour cream creates an especially smooth, yet firm cream filling for this pie. The moist filling does not make the crust soggy because the crust is brushed with egg white and pre-baked before the filling is added.

Crust:

1 unbaked cold pie crust in buttered 9-inch pie pan (see recipe above)

1 large egg white

Filling:

1 cup sour cream

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons flour

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

2 cups (about 1 pound) peeled, pitted and sliced peaches

Powdered sugar for dusting top

To prepare Crust, press piece of heavy foil into cold pie crust, covering edges of crust. Fill foil with dried beans or metal pie weights. Bake at 375 degrees 15 minutes. Carefully remove foil and pie weights. (Crust will be partially baked and set.)

Beat egg white with fork until slightly foamy. Brush egg white over inside of crust. Pierce crust in 3 or 4 places with fork. Bake until crust is light golden, 10 minutes longer. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

To prepare Filling, whisk sour cream, granulated sugar, flour, eggs, vanilla, salt and orange peel in large bowl until smooth. Pour filling into baked crust. Arrange peach slices in circular pattern on filling, placing them gently. (Peaches will sink partially into filling.)

Bake until filling is set so if you give pie gentle shake, center remains firm, about 55 minutes. Cool about 1 hour at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours.

Serve cold. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. (Pie can be refrigerated overnight.) Makes 8 servings.

PEACH AND RASPBERRY ICE CREAM PIE WITH PEACHES IN CARAMEL SYRUP

Peach pies can be no-bake ice cream pies, too. Layers of peach and raspberry ice cream are frozen in an almond cookie crumb crust and served with sliced peaches in caramel syrup. For an instant variation of the sauce, stir the peach slices into store-bought butterscotch sundae sauce.

Crust:

1 1/2 cups shortbread cookie crumbs, such as Lorna Doone

1/2 cup toasted almonds, ground

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

1 pint raspberry ice cream or frozen yogurt, softened just until spreadable

1 pint peach ice cream or frozen yogurt, softened just until spreadable

Topping:

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup boiling water

1 tablespoon Amaretto or almond-flavored liqueur

2 cups (about 1 pound) peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced

To prepare Crust, mix cookie crumbs, almonds and melted butter, combining well. Press mixture evenly over inside of buttered 9-inch pie pan. Bake at 325 degrees 6 minutes. Cool thoroughly.

To prepare Filling, spread raspberry ice cream evenly in crust. Smooth top. Spread peach ice cream over raspberry ice cream. Cover and freeze firm or up to 1 week.

To prepare Topping, combine water and sugar in heavy large saucepan. Cover and cook over low heat until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover, increase heat to medium-high and bring to boil. Boil mixture, without stirring, until sugar melts, caramelizes and turns dark golden color, about 10 minutes. Swirl pan gently as soon as sugar begins to change color to ensure that sugar melts evenly. Remove from heat.

Add 1/2 cup boiling water. Be careful as mixture will steam and bubble. Stir in Amaretto. Cool caramel syrup at least 30 minutes at room temperature. Pour into medium serving bowl. (Syrup can be covered and stored at room temperature 2 days.)

When ready to serve, stir sliced peaches into caramel syrup. Warm syrup slightly over low heat, if syrup has thickened too much to stir in peaches. Remove pie from freezer. If ice cream is too hard to cut, let pie stand at room temperature 5 to 10 minutes to soften slightly. Cut pie into slices and top each slice with caramel peaches. Makes 8 servings.

(Eleanor Klivans is the author of ``125 Cookies to Bake, Nibble, and Savor,`` Broadway Books.)

(c) 2000, Eleanor Klivans. Distributed by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate.

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Author: Elinor Klivans