At Home With Annie: Peach Cream Pie

When I was a little girl (don't the best stories start that way? :) ), I spent a lot of time with my grandma Matilda, hence my daughters name. My grandma Matilda, aka "Gram," was the best baker within 10 counties and that was a fact. In addition to that, Gram's pie game was STRONG - especially her cherry pie game. So without hesitation, Gram was delighted to teach all her granddaughters how to bake. Luckily for me, I lived the closest to her, so therefore, I had more opportunities to soak up her knowledge. That love for baking and making sweet treats for loved ones has stayed with me, and now I'm trying to pass on that same love to my kids.

One of my absolute favorite things to do with Kenny (and someday Matilda too), is bake all kinds of goodies. For about the last year, Kenny has been very interested in helping me bake whatever it is I'm baking. It's a great way to get quality time with just him, he learns how to follow steps/directions, he counts all my "cups," he turns a mean whisk, and the best part is, we all get to partake in the enjoyment of creating something yummy when we're done. Kenny may say the best part is licking the beaters and the spatula, and I can't argue with that, but y'all know what I'm saying. Personally, I'm thrilled Kenny enjoys things like this, because I'm absolutely terrible at zooming cars, playing Legos, and I'm actually not that great at even playing pretend kitchen or pretend anything for that matter. But I will say, I crush it at baking with him in the real kitchen. Year four, in my opinion, has been magic- Kenny has learned to ski, he can hike a couple miles, he can go on 2-3 mile bike rides, and he can absolutely bake with assistance. When "they" say, "parenting gets better and better", I would tend to agree!

Both our stylish aprons were made with love by Mimi Kay. Similar aprons

here

and

here

So what were Kenny and I up to in the kitchen?

We made homemade peach cream pie with a homemade pie crust. I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with Palisade peaches from Colorado, but you have not lived unless you've eaten a ripe Palisade peach in August in the great state of Colorado. So right now is the ideal time to whip up any desert containing peaches. The pie crust recipe I use is from Smitten Kitchen, and there is no need trialing another crust recipe. This pie crust recipe is the jam. It's super easy to make and only has to chill in the refrigerator for one to two hours before rolling it out- so you could make a crust and the pie all in one day if you wanted. The peach cream pie recipe I use is from Southern Plate, and it's been a crowd pleaser from day one. The only changes I make are: I use vanilla extract instead of almond extract and I typically use plain Greek yogurt in substitute for sour cream, simply because that is what we keep in our refrigerator, and I still get rave reviews.

My favorite pie baking essentials are linked below: