no kitty that's mah peach pie!

bored. home. sick. i have to venture out long enough to get groceries, and when i do, i buy shit like potatoes, leeks, and a nectarine, get home, and realize i forgot...everything else. during yesterday's shopping trip i had the brilliant idea that i'd buy supplies to make the nytime's peach pie recipe, but, not having the recipe actually on me, or having had made any sort of list, i got...peaches. i then ended up borrowing the rest of the ingredients from my awesome neighbor, who got home at 9:30pm, meaning i was up until midnight frying pies. mmm.

my place still smells like cooking oil.

pie crust:
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), chilled and cubed
1 large egg, whisked with enough ice-cold water to make 1/2 cup

(notes after making this: i'd like to cut the butter with crisco, perhaps, and fry in lard, or crisco, vs vegetable oil. they are tasty but need more flakiness and more fat. science demands this experiment be continued)

pie filling:
1 1/4 pounds ripe peaches, peeled and sliced into 1/4" slices
2 1/2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon instant tapioca
2 teaspoons bourbon (or substitute orange juice, or substitute single malt whiskey if that's what you have on hand, heh)
3/4 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon of your neighbor's ground cinnamon
Vegetable oil, for frying
Cinnamon sugar (1/4c granulated sugar mixed with 1/4tsp cinnamon), for sprinkling.

1. yay for borrowed food processors! pulse together flour, sugar and salt. add cubed butter and pulse until mixture forms pea-size crumbs. pulse in egg mixture a tbsp at a time until dough just comes together (you may not need to use all the egg mixture). divide dough into 10 equal pieces, flatten into disks with your palm, wrap in plastic and chill for around 45 minutes.

2. for the filling, i used a potato peeler to peel the peaches, sliced them in half, pitted them, and made approximately 1/4" thick slices; the thickness is pretty forgiving. put peaches into a large skillet and stir in sugar, tapioca, bourbon, lemon juice and cinnamon. let rest for 10 minutes, then bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. cook until sugar dissolves and peaches are tender - 3-5m. transfer mixture to a bowl and pop in the freezer for 20m to cool, stirring once or twice.

3. so the original recipe says, "Fill a medium pot with 4 inches of oil and heat to 375 degrees. On a floured surface, roll out dough into 6-inch rounds." i didn't have that much oil, so i used a smaller pot and cut the dough into 5" circles, which worked well. i was surprised to find i have a cooking thermometer that goes to 400 degrees, and that stovetop deepfrying is messy, and that it took a while to get the oil to the right temp - but once i'd ruined three or four pies, i got the balance right and made 6 or 7 more perfect ones. anyway, place a heaping tablespoon of filling in center of each round. lightly moisten edges of each circle with water, then fold dough over filling, making a semicircle, and pinch edges to seal.

4. make a giant mess by frying pies in batches until dark golden, 3 to 4 minutes. transfer pies to a paper-towel-lined plate and sprinkle immediately with cinnamon sugar.