Brown Sugar Peach Crumble Pie with Flaky Crust

Method

1. In a large mixing bowl, use a pastry blender (or two forks) to mix the all-purpose flour, salt, cold cubed butter, and cold vegetable shortening until you have small pea-size pieces. Some slightly larger pieces are fine too! If the pastry blender gets clogged while you mix, clear it out with a knife.
2. Add the ice cold water 1 tablespoon at a time. Using a spatula or your hands, mix until the dough holds together in a ball and is no longer crumbly. If any crumbly bits remain, add a tiny bit more cold water so they blend in with the rest of the dough.
3. Once the dough forms a ball, place it on a lightly floured, clean surface and pat it into a 1″-1 1/2″ thick disc. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and chill it in the coldest part of your refrigerator (usually the back) for at least 1 hour, or overnight if you can.
4. In a medium bowl, use a pastry cutter (or two forks) to blend the all-purpose flour, light brown sugar, old fashioned oats, and cold unsalted cubed butter until a crumble forms. Set it aside.
5. Move the oven rack to the 2nd level position (just above center) and preheat the oven to 425ºF.
6. On a well-floured, clean surface, roll out the chilled dough disc (or unroll it if you bought it ready-made) and carefully fit it into the 10″ skillet. Trim or fold in any extra dough, then return it to the refrigerator while you make the peach filling.
7. In a large bowl, toss the sliced peaches, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, corn starch, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and cubed butter until well coated. The mixture will get juicy, and that is okay!
8. Take the crust out of the refrigerator and spoon in a layer of peach filling with a slotted spoon, which leaves the extra juices behind. Top it with a layer of the brown sugar crumble. Repeat until you have used up both the filling and the crumble.
9. Optional step: use a pastry brush to lightly coat the edges of the crust with the egg white. You will not need all of it, just a light coating is enough.
10. Bake the pie for 15 minutes at 425ºF. If you like, place a jelly roll pan on the oven rack below the pie to catch any juices that run off.
11. After 15 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 375ºF and bake for another 40-45 minutes. If you like, add a pie crust shield now to keep the crust edges from burning. You can use something like the one I bought, or simply wrap pieces of aluminum foil around the edges.
12. When it is done, take the skillet out of the oven and let the pie cool completely.

Baker’s notes

• When making the pie crust, make sure your butter, vegetable shortening, and water are all very cold. To keep the water cold, you can add ice cubes to it.
• Refrigerate the crust after placing it in the skillet while you make the peach filling. This keeps the fats solid!
• I did not peel my peaches before slicing them into the filling. Peeling is not necessary, but if you really do not like the skins, you can absolutely peel them first.
• Use a slotted spoon when adding the peach filling to the crust. This helps keep the crust from getting too soggy!
• I like to place a jelly roll pan on the oven rack directly below the pie in case any juices escape while it bakes. That did not happen with this recipe, but it is always good practice.
• After 15 minutes of baking and lowering the oven temperature, I like to add a pie crust shield. It keeps the edges from getting too dark and overbaked.
• If you want a top crust on this peach crumble pie, just double the buttery, flaky pie crust recipe below. You can also cut slits or a decorative pattern into it.
• This recipe was made in a 10″ FINEX cast iron skillet.