Tequila Peach Pie Just Like Grandma (Didn’t) Used to Make

Every week, we spotlight a different food blogger who’s shaking up the blogosphere with tempting recipes and knockout photography. Below, Ashley Rodriguez of Not Without Salt proves that tequila and pie do indeed mix.

All photos: Ashley Rodriguez

I asked her to teach me her secret to making pie. Grandma was after all the bringer of pie to all family functions so of course I thought to learn from her. I wasn’t a foreigner in the often intimidating land of pie making as my mother frequently gifted us children with pie. The process of incorporating cold butter into flour didn’t seem to frighten her, so I too wasn’t scared. Grandma’s pies were different from others. So tender not even a sharp knife could cleanly slice through it. Instead, victims of the knife’s pressure lay in the bottom of the pie plate in the form of sweet crumbs. I considered it my duty as their liberator to claim those crumbs with my fingers and my mouth their new home.

She gathered her ingredients: flour, salt, sugar, milk, and oil. OIL?! No butter, I repeat, no butter. A coffee cup was her measuring cup and it was sometimes filled to the top, other times not. Once all the ingredients were added she mixed it with her hands using her years of experience to determine if she needed “more of this or that.” She was reluctant to offer up a recipe as it was the “feel” of it that was a better judge than precise measurements. What emerged from the oven just over an hour later was a perfect pie, just as Grandma always makes.

I find Grandma’s method of baking so comforting. Grandma doesn’t find herself in debates over how she measures flour, she just bakes. She has gifted people with pie, I imagine, no less than a thousand times. Her church, our family and her friends have all had the pleasure of enjoying her impossibly tender crust. It is Grandma’s experience that guides her baking.

While there is no arguing that baking is a science, I find that often all the discussion of the preciseness necessary in baking can scare people away from actually attempting to form a dough. Experience is often the best teacher, as is the case with baking. Let me assure you that there will be failed attempts. Happens to me still. There are at any moment many factors at play working towards the success of your baked good. Sometimes things happen that you simply don’t have an answer for.

You may think I’m crazy making a match like tequila and peaches, but I assure you, it’s a winner. I happened upon the pair when they were both sitting on my counter. I picked both of them up and smelled them together and the rest is history, or it’s pie at least.

Tequila Peach Galette
Makes 1 galette

Galette dough

This isn’t Grandma’s dough but it is a sturdy one that is more flaky than tender, making it the perfect choice for a free-form pie. Its hardy crunch and buttery flakes are a welcome contrast in texture and flavor to the almost jam-like peaches.

1 ½ cups (7 ounces, 200 grams) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon (4 ½ ounces, 125 grams) butter, cold
1 egg
1 teaspoon vinegar (such as champagne or cider)
1 tablespoon water, cold

Combine the flour, cornstarch, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to combine. Cut the cold butter into rough ½-inch cubes. Scatter on top of the flour and pulse just a couple of times to evenly disperse the butter. In a small bowl, stir together the egg, vinegar, and water. While streaming the liquids in, pulse the machine. The dough will appear very crumbly. Once the liquid has been incorporated squeeze the mixture in your hands and if it holds together you are set. If not, sprinkle with a few more drops of water and pulse a couple more times.

Dump out the dough and form into a rough disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Tequila Peaches

1½ tablespoons tequila (I used Hornitos)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 large peaches, ripe and fragrant
1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon lime zest

Combine the tequila, lime juice, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Slice the peaches about ¼” thin. In a medium bowl add the peaches and the juice/cornstarch mixture. Using your hands, toss to combine.

Pre-heat the oven to 385°. You want to start with a nice hot oven to make sure the butter in the dough quickly comes to a boil, which creates steam that puffs up the dough — this is the magic of flakes. Hot oven plus cold butter equals beautiful flakes.

Once the dough has chilled, roll it out to your desired size. Don’t worry about being neat — in my opinion, pies are best when they are rustic and rough. Roll out the dough to ¼-inch thickness. Place the dough on a parchment-lined sheet tray so you don’t have to awkwardly transfer the galette once assembled. (Can you tell I’m speaking from experience here?)

Arrange the peaches or simply dump them in the center of your dough. Leave 1½ inches surrounding the peaches and fold this up on top of them, pleating as you go so that it securely encases the fruit. Brush the top of the crust with cream and sprinkle the sugar over the crust and the fruit. Scatter the zest on top of that. Chill the galette in the freezer for 15 minutes before baking.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. If the crust starts to color too quickly before the juices have begun to boil then simply turn the oven down to 350°. You will be able to tell your pie is done with the crust is a deep golden color and the juices have bubbled and look thicker than boiling water and more like bubbling jam.

Remove from the oven and let sit for at least two hours before enjoying.

More fruit-filled desserts:

Salted Caramel Plum Tarte Tatin Recipe

Black Pepper and Grapefruit Meringue Pie Recipe

Lemon-Basil Custard Pie with Red Berries