Romona and I had a discussion about old cookbooks on face book recently.  This recipe was adapted from the cookbook that we were fondly remembering.  I still have my worn out copy and one day my kids will get to throw it away. It the Better Homes and Garden Cookbook.  This edition was first published in 1953 until the late 1950's. I was a very popular cookbooks because it was full of step by step pictures on how to cook. I have owned other copies of this cookbook over the years but gave one each to my 2 oldest grandkids. I have a current copy but still love the one from the 1950's.

I don’t live in an area that is suitable for peaches trees. Growing up my parents had peach trees and mom would can peaches every summer.  She liked making pies and canned plenty of fruit to make pies with. Fresh peaches are always the best for pies and cobblers but my food budget doesn’t allow me to indulge in fresh peaches to cook with.  Fresh peaches are always enjoyed eaten when in season. This recipe can be adapted to sugar free by buying sugar free canned peaches and using sugar substitute in the recipe.  I used light canned peaches for this pie and tasted the filling to make sure it was sweet enough.

There was some extra cans of peaches lurking in my cupboard that I should use up.  Since it had been a long time since I made a peach pie, it just sounded good.  I thought of those pies that was made from peaches that my mother canned. They were never over sweet or saucy like commercial pie filling. She filled the pies with more peaches then what is in a can of pie filling.  I dug out an old cookbook from the 1950’s and found the recipe that she would of used.  When I was young my mother only had 8 inch and 7 inch pie pans. A 7 inch pie pan held only one can of commercial pie filling.  In today it is hard to find a 7 inch pie pan unless you find one in a thrift store or save the aluminum throw away pie pan from a small bakery pie. Today 9 inch and 8 inch pie pans are sold.  The 9 inch holds 2 cans of pie filling nicely.

I wanted to use my 9 inch deep dish pie pan so the pie would not boil over into the oven.  My mother always used a quart of peaches for a pie.  I had a 29 ounce can and a 15 ounce can which turn out to fill the 9 inch pan nicely. Two 15 ounce cans will make a 8 inch pie. I used the whole can including the syrup that the peaches was canned in.  This was the way my mother did it.  She always didn’t want to waste the sugar that had been used to can the peaches with.  She always drained the juice into the sauce pan first then set the peaches aside to add later to the thickened syrup.

Normally I make my own pie crust but I was baking in the middle of the night and did not want to wake everyone up with my food processor so I used pre-made pie dough from the grocery.  I also use a pastry cutter to make the butterflies on the top.

I found these cutters over the last year at Walmart during the holidays.  They were very inexpensive and picked up the Christmas ones after Christmas marked down. They don’t sell them year around.  The butterfly came from Easter. They came in package of 4.  You can find them online but they are several times more expensive then what I paid for them. I think I only paid less then $3 a set of 4. They are my coolest new thing to bake with and they make charming little cookies too. Here is a video from William Sonoma that shows how to use them.  I didn’t get a regular leaf in my assortment last fall to make that pretty petal crust.  I always look at William Sonoma on line to widow shop and that is were I first saw them. Then I saw them at Walmart and could not pass them up. Been using them on my pie crust ever since. Hmm… I bet the Christmas tree or Easter egg might make a nice petal.

Peach Pie Filling 

2 cans 15 ounce sliced peaches (8 inch pie) or 3 cans 15 ounces sliced peaches (9 inch pie)

1/2 cup to 3/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup corn starch

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Double Pie Crust unbaked

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Drain the juice from the can peaches into a sauce pan and set aside the peaches.  Add all the other ingredients to the juice except vanilla and peaches. Cook on medium heat stirring constantly until thickened. Now add peaches and gently stir until peaches are heated through.  You may taste to see if the pie is sweet enough. If not add a little more sugar to taste.  Add vanilla just before pouring into pie crust. Crimp edges and make slits for steam to escape. Brush with an egg wash and sprinkle crust with a little sugar for a little crunch and sweetness. Cover edges with foil to keep the crust from getting too brown.

Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes then turn down oven to 350 degrees then finish baking for 40 minutes. Until it is golden brown.

Cook books from the 1930's thru the 1960's are a treasure trove of cooking information. Some of the early 1930's cookbooks expected you to know how to do some things but later with more modern stoves and kitchen appliances the editors understood that cooks needed more information and instructions on how to.  In the 1970's women needed and wanted short cuts because many were now working outside the home.  There was more semi home made using commercial products of the day. Cookbooks are now back to showing how to make things from basic ingredients with lots of step by step pictures. Like in the 1930's cooks are looking for recipes that are good but inexpensive to make.