Impossibly Easy Peach Pie from Grandma

This is a recipe I posted a couple years ago but I have updated it and thought I'd re-share because honestly it's too good not to!

It's hard to believe that summer is soon coming to an end but while it is still hot and steamy this is a fantastic dessert to use up those great summer peaches you probably have around!  This pie is from my grandmother and it's so simple to make!  She calls it Crumbly Peach Pie but after making it I changed that up a bit and named it "Impossibly Easy Peach Pie" because for years when she made it I always assumed it was a difficult one to make because of the amazing flavor but...nope, it's easy as "pie"!  I am guaranteeing you will enjoy this pie!

Impossibly Easy Peach Pie

www.itsybitsypaperblog.com

Pie Crust:

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

¾ Cup Crisco

1 tsp. Salt

3T. Ice Water

Cut shortening into flour with a pastry blender very thoroughly.  Add 3 Tablespoons ice water and mix with a fork into a large ball of dough.  Divide into 2 balls, wrap in wax paper and place in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes before rolling for crust.  Once crust is rolled out place in a pie plate.  Bake for 10 minutes on 450 degrees weighting the crust with pie weights or forks.  Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before filling.

Peach Pie:

1 Cup Sugar

½ Cup Flour

⅛ tsp. Nutmeg

Mix the above ingredients and cut in ½ Cup Cold Butter until crumbly.  Sprinkle half the crumbs in the bottom of your prepared crust.  Peel and cut 3 to 4 large peaches in half.  Fresh peaches are best in this recipe.  Place the peaches cut side down on the crumbs then cover with the remaining crumb mixture.  Sprinkle with 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and bake in a 450 degree oven for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for about 30 minutes.  Cool and serve with ice cream or cool whip.

• Gather your ingredients for the pie crust and the peach pie

• Prepare pie crust by cutting the Crisco into the salt and flour mixture then add ice water and form into a large dough ball.  Place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes before rolling it out

• Place your dough onto a pastry cloth or floured surface and roll out to fit a 9 inch pie plate

• Place rolled dough into a pie plate and flute the edges.  Weight the crust with pie weights or forks and bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes.  Remove to cool before filling

• Combine the sugar, flour and nutmeg together in a large bowl

• Cut cold butter into the flour mixture until you have blended it well and you have "crumbs"

• Peel and slice peaches in half

• Cover the entire crust with crumbs, reserving some for the topping

• Place peaches cut side down on top of the crumbs then use the remaining crumbs to top the rest of the peaches.  Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and bake as recipe instructs

 Easy as PIE!

 Yummy in the tummy!

Recently someone tried this pie for the first time and he said it was so good that when he died he wanted it buried with him.  Now that is a rave AND unique review if I have ever heard one!

Satisfaction guaranteed!

The Best Ever Homemade Caramels

Awhile back I posted a Caramel Recipe that I thought was fantastic but I lied....this is the best recipe ever.  I have given these Caramels out as gifts and everyone has asked for the recipe and has told me that they are the best they have ever had so clearly the post title is accurate...The BEST Homemade Caramels.  I am so glad I was cruising Pinterest and found this recipe because from here on this will be my go to recipe.  They make for a great gift and one batch makes a bunch of them.

  You will need:

1 cup of butter (2 sticks)
4 cups sugar
2 cups light karo syrup
2 (12 oz) cans evaporated milk
2 tsp vanilla

1. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment paper.  I like to do this because it makes it easy to lift the entire sheet of caramels out and then you can easily cut them on the cutting board.  If you choose not to use parchment paper just generously grease the jelly roll pan.

2.  Add 2 sticks butter, sugar, and karo syrup to a large heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat. Stir over medium heat until mixture begins to boil, about 5-10 minutes.

3.  Slowly add the evaporated milk so that the mixture maintains a constant boil.  Once you've added the milk and things boil it tends to expand so be sure to use a pan that is larger than you might think you need.  I learned the hard way when I first made caramels and burnt my stovetop pretty bad when it boiled over.

4.  Stir the mixture regularly, scraping the sides until it reaches a firm ball stage (that is about 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer). This can take quite a long time so don't be surprised if you are still waiting 45 minutes to an hour later.  If you don't have a candy thermometer you can check the caramels the filling a glass with cold water and drop a spoonful of caramel in the water.  Pull the caramel out of the water and see if it holds together in a ball.  If it doesn't it isn't ready yet.  Just keep checking until it is firm and pliable, but still sticky.  Once you reach 240 degrees F or the firm ball stage, remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  The original recipe called for just 1 tsp. of vanilla but I found that I like these with 2 tsp of vanilla.  It just richens up the flavor a bit more.

5.  Pour caramels into the prepared pan and refrigerate until cooled and hardened. Cut caramel into small pieces and wrap in wax paper.  The caramels will seem very hard at first but they soften quickly so if they get too soft while cutting them just stick them back in the fridge for a few minutes to firm them back up.  I find that it's much easier to cut them when they are good and firm.  I usually cut my wax paper while I'm waiting for them to get cold.  I wrap mine like a Jolly Rancher would be so that means you will want to have your wax paper cut in rectangles and cut enough that you can wrap your caramels and twist each end of the wax paper.

Recipe and directions adapted slightly from Tastes Better From Scratch.

 The lines on my caramels above are from the parchment paper.  I had already started cutting some of my caramels when I took this pic and I didn't realize I put them back in the tray upside down so you are seeing the weird lines that the parchment left.  Don't worry you'll never see that when you cut them and wrap them.

I cut my caramels to be about an inch long but some people like them to be squares or even to roll them into a tube shape so whatever works for you.

I hope you enjoy these little bites of Heaven!

. . . Amazing Banana Pudding Recipe . . .

I can remember the first time I had Banana Pudding and thought I had gone to heaven.  How can something so simple taste so amazingly divine?  I don't know, but it sure does work!

My husband recently reminded me that I hadn't made Banana Pudding in a long time and he thought I needed to remedy that situation.  I decided to try it a little differently this time after seeing lots of people using Sweetened Condensed Milk in their recipe.  I always just make it with pudding and Cool Whip but I think I found the magic ingredient that worked and then I added extra Vanilla Extract to really make the flavor pop.  It was delicious!

 You will need:

1 large package of Vanilla Instant Pudding

2 1/2 Cups cold Milk

1 Can Sweetened Condensed Milk, 14 oz.

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Container of Cool Whip, 16 oz.

1 Box of Nilla Wafers

4 to 6 Bananas

To Make:

Add your pudding mix and milk to a bowl and mix with an electric mixer until it is well combined.  Add in your Sweetened Condensed Milk and Vanilla extract and mix well.  Fold in HALF of the Cool Whip and combine it with the pudding mixture.  

To Assemble:

Start with a small amount of pudding on the bottom of your bowl and then add sliced bananas to cover the pudding mixture and then add a layer of Nilla Wafers.  Repeat this until all your pudding is used up and then spread the remaining Cool Whip over the top to create a "frosting".  I ended mine with Nilla Wafers and then did the Cool Whip topping.  Chill for a couple hours before serving.

 Adding the Sweetened Condensed Milk and Vanilla Extract really help kick this Banana Pudding up a notch!

   This dessert is sure to please and it's so simple to make!  It can be done in minutes.  The hardest part is waiting for it to chill!

I hope you enjoy this pudding as much as we do!

. . . Keep your apples from browning and Peanut Butter Fruit Dip . . .

I love apples but I hate biting into them so I always cut mine up into chunks.  If I don't finish them quick enough then of course they get brown...yuck!  My mom used to soak them in lemon juice and that made a big difference to prevent the browning but then they tasted like lemon juice...go figure!  My grandma then taught us this little trick and it works like a charm--it is simple and doesn't change the taste of the apples.  The solution is SALT!  Yes, I know it sounds weird but it works and it will still leave your apples tasting great and no browning!

Finally, you can pack those apples in lunches or serve them at a party and they won't be ugly and brown!  It just takes a small little bit of salt and cold water.

 This is such a simple trick!

 Cut up your apples the way you like them.  I like the skins off when I cut them but you could leave the skins on.  Totally a personal preference and will not change the outcome of your apples staying fresh.

Fill a bowl with cold water and about a 1/2 teaspoon to a full teaspoon of salt depending on the quantity of apples. I honestly don't measure, I just dump some salt in and if I'm doing a big batch of apples then I add extra salt to be sure it's enough.  I also add ice to the water to be sure it's good and cold but you wouldn't have to do that step.  Just be sure to put the salt and water together first and then add your apples once the salt has been mixed into the water.  Let the apples soak for awhile and then serve them or put them in a bag and store them in the fridge.  You can also fill a ziploc bag with salt and water and let them sit in that mixture overnight but I usually just soak them for a little while and then bag them without the salt.  When I say "awhile" I would say a half hour to an hour.

It amazes me that this works without changing the flavor of the apples but it really does!  So much better than doing lemon juice.  No more face puckering when you eat sliced apples.

• • •

Here is a bonus recipe for a great Peanut Butter Apple Dip (or any fruit or snack that you like with it) that my grandmother uses for parties or just to have in the fridge to dip your apples and snacks in.  I am sure you've seen this dip idea around before because I know a lot of bloggers have shared similar recipes and I've seen variations of it on Pinterest but if you haven't made something like this before I'd recommend it!  Your kids will love it in their lunchbox too.  I honestly could just eat the dip by the spoonfuls.  It tastes like Peanut Butter Pie Filling.

Peanut Butter Dip

1 Cup Peanut Butter, smooth not crunchy

1 jar of Marshmallow Fluff

1 8 ounce package of Cream Cheese, softened

1 Cup of Cool Whip

Place all the ingredients in a bowl and mix everything together with an electric mixer.  Make sure your mixture is smooth and you are done!  Can it get much easier than that?  I don't think so!

Place the dip in a container to keep in the fridge or serve it for a sweet treat at a party.  This works well with plenty of other fruit and snack foods as well. Try smearing it on a chocolate graham cracker, yum!

 Look how great those apples look!  No browning even after they had been in the fridge all day before serving them.

 So good!

Don't these look amazing even the next day?  I just love cutting up a bunch of apples and keeping them in the fridge for several days without the browning!  We can all have a quick and healthy snack with this little salt water trick.

Enjoy!

. . . Easy Homemade Blackberry Cobbler . . .

My son and I have been very busy picking wild blackberries that grow just down the street from our house.  Every morning we go out for a walk and take our berry pot with us and pick the newly ripened blackberries.  I have enjoyed him getting excited about what we can make with them and seeing how fun it is to take something we picked and turn it into something delicious!  

Our picking adventures have slowed down because we saw a snake in one of the blackberry bushes and ever since he's been very apprehensive to get his little hands in the bushes to pull out the berries so we have just been picking the berries that are easily reached so no one has another snake encounter.  I also got a terrible case of poison ivy from picking the berries so I have learned to not be quite so aggressive. We have been covered in splinters from the thorns too so again we are learning to not be quite so crazy with how deep we go into the bushes.  My husband keeps laughing and asking if all these things make it worth picking the berries and each time my answer is yes!  You can always go into the store and buy berries but teaching your child how to pick them and then how to make something from them is just priceless and it will be a memory he has forever I hope.  

This recipe I'm sharing came from Cooks.com and had fantastic reviews and now I have to agree that it is beyond fabulous.  Even better, it was super easy and really was a fun recipe to make with Marcus because it was simple enough he could do it all while I oversaw him.  It's so much fun getting your kids involved in the kitchen so even if you aren't using fresh berries you picked grab a kiddo and let them help out with this recipe.  They will love it!

 You Will Need:

1/2 c. butter
1 Cup all-purpose flour
1 Cup sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
2/3 c. milk
16 oz. fresh blackberries or you can use thawed frozen blackberries

Melt butter in a 2 quart casserole. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and milk in a small mixing bowl, mix well.  This will be a thick and sticky batter but that is what you want.Pour mixture over melted butter, do not stir. Spoon blackberries over batter; do not stir.
Bake at 350°F. for 45 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with a big 'ol scoop of vanilla ice cream on it and you will be in heaven!

 I told my son this was a magic recipe because it is one of those that you do in layers and then while it bakes the doughy filling rises to the top.  

 Make sure when you are making this recipe that you don't stir up the ingredients when you layer them into your baking dish.  

 Even though the crust didn't cover the entire top of the cobbler there is still quite a bit of it mixed through it.  I served ours with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream but honestly I could eat it just all by itself.  It's the perfect amount of sweetness without being too rich.

 Yummy goodness!

 Perfection!

I hope you enjoy this simple and sweet recipe!

. . . Sour Cream Rhubarb Pie . . .

This recipe is something my mom used to make every summer when my grandma's garden would have rhubarb.  Eventually when I started baking I asked for the recipe and have been making it ever since.  It is one of the best Rhubarb Pie recipes you will ever try.  It is the perfect combination of tart and sweet and the crunchiness of the crumb topping completes it.  I highly recommend you making this pie!  If you've never tried Rhubarb this is a great recipe to start with because it's super easy and because it's just so good.  

My husband says he doesn't like Rhubarb however every time I make this pie he gobbles it right up.  My son is the exact same way and really loves this pie.

Sour Cream Rhubarb Pie

Pie:

1 Prepared Pie Crust

2 1/2 Cups Chopped Rhubarb

 1 Cup Sour Cream

3 Eggs

2 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour

1 Cap Vanilla

Dash of Salt

1 1/2 Cups Sugar

 

Crumb Topping:

3/4 Cup All-purpose Flour

1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1/3 Cup Butter, Cold

 

Combine all ingredients for the pie except the rhubarb and mix until well blended.  Add in chopped rhubarb and stir to mix it all in.  Pour in unbaked pie shell and spread rhubarb around to make sure it's evenly distributed.  

Combine the butter and brown sugar for the crumb topping.  Cut in chunks of cold butter until you end up with crumbs.  Pour crumb topping over the entire pie spreading out as needed.  Bake pie in a 375 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes.  Check periodically to make sure your crust isn't burning.  Cool and serve with vanilla ice cream.  This pie should be refrigerated.

So Good and really easy! 

My grandmother said this round of pies was the best she has ever had.  I am not sure why they turned out so good but they were just the perfect consistency this time around.  To make the pie a pretty light pink color add a drop or two of red or pink food coloring to the mixture.  This is completely optional but it makes it very pretty when serving.

Serve and Enjoy