Doesn't it just sound good? This pie is an award winner...it won $2,500 in the Great American Pie Contest so it should be good! Oh, no, it's not my recipe. My pie didn't win a thing...not even an honorable mention, worthy effort or a second look...nope, my pie was not even as much as an after thought...but I'm not complaining, because really, what would I do with $2,500??? That's not even enough to spit on! So this is the pie that beat mine - apparently by a land-slide - and the winner, Sherrell Dikes from Holiday Island, AR, had this to say, "This was the first contest I've ever entered, and it was a wonderful experience!" Her first contest. Well, ain't that special?!? No, really, I'm not bitter...I'm not...I'm irritated just a smidgen but certainly not bitter!
Making this pie became an obsession...not only did I make it once, but three times. The first pie I gave to some friends and the wife said it was great but the husband, a peach-pie-afficionado said it was "not his favorite." Ha! Not everyone thought it was worth $2,500! I felt such vindication! As the pie was a gift, I did not taste it...so I had to make it again. The second pie was okay...not great...perhaps I was judging it unfairly because of the bitter taste in my mouth from my pie not winning so much as a hotpad...so after eating every last crumb, it would have been rude not to, I made another one. And three was the charm. It IS a good pie - dang-good-award-winning, and that's hard to say with crow in one's mouth. And it's different - it's not your ordinary run-of-the-tin peach pie. It's the sour cream, of course, but also the pecans and that crumbled topping that will have you wiping your drool in between bites.
Sour Cream Peach Pecan Pie - Adapted From Taste of Home Magazine, August 2009, by Sherrell Dikes
pastry for single-crust 9-inch pie
4 cups sliced peeled peaches (about 4 to 5 medium peaches)
2 tablespoons peach preserves
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons chopped pecans
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a 9-inch pie plate with pastry; trim and flute edges. In a large bowl, combine peaches and preserves. Transfer to pastry. In a small bowl, whisk the sugar, sour cream, egg yolks, flour and vanilla. Pour over peaches. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the flour, sugars, pecans, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly; after pie has baked for 30 minutes, remove from oven and sprinkle topping over pie. Cover edges of crust with foil to prevent over-browning. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and topping is golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Store in the refrigerator. Serves 8.
"A word to the wise ain't necessary. It's the stupid ones who need the advice." ~ Bill Cosby
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One year ago today: Blueberry Tart
