I'm teaching a class! And also, pie

Summer is still here, enjoy peach pie while you can!

Happy Friday and happy September, all! I know many people are all excited for the beginning of fall, and while I do enjoy the fresh start that September always brings, I’m already sad at the impending end of summer. I love the long days and late sunsets, especially now that I have a dog and like to walk her right before sunset. Well, that just means I have to enjoy as much of this next month or so as much as possible!

In my last newsletter, I promised you a recipe, and you’ll get that at the end of this newsletter, but before I get there, a few bits of fun news! First, Barnes and Noble is doing a 25% off sale on all preorders right now (through Friday, September 6th!), and yes, Flirting Lessons is included! A few other upcoming books that I recommend: On Her Terms, by Amy Spalding (I read an early copy of this one a few months ago and loved it); Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One, by Kristin Arnett (I just finished this one last week and it’s so good and funny); and Audre and Bash are Just Friends by Tia Williams (I haven’t read this one yet, but I’m dying to; I love Tia’s writing so much).

Second, I’m teaching a class this fall with The Writers Conservatory! It’s all online, and it’s called “Selling a Love Story,” which basically means that I walk you through how to make the love story in your book feel real and believable to readers. I’m both nervous and excited for this—I’ve never taught a class before—and I’d love for you to join me! Click through that link above for all the info with specifics and dates; the class itself is $195 until October 22, and there’s info about scholarships here. Let me know if you have questions, and I’ll try to answer in the comments!

Finally, pie! I love love this peach creme fraiche pie; I’ve made it a bunch of times, but last weekend I made it for the first time this summer and was furious at myself for taking so long to make it, and I don’t want any of you to lose out on the ability to make it with fresh peaches (or fresh nectarines, most of the time I make it with nectarines, because I usually prefer them to peaches). It’s fast and easy, since it uses just the bottom crust, and especially since when I make it I often use purchased pie dough for it. It has a streusel on top and is packed with peaches and is delicious the next day and oh no, I’m going to make another one of these this weekend, aren’t I? I gave you this recipe once in a very old newsletter, but most of you were not here then and I don’t want you to lose out on this, and plus, that just shows that I’ve been baking and loving this recipe since before I even published a book!

Peach and Creme Fraiche Pie

Ingredients:
1/2 recipe of your favorite pie dough (or your favorite purchased pie dough) (see below for my favorite pie dough recipe)

Streusel:
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
4-6 tablespoons flour 
1/4 cup (1/2 stick/4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Filling:
1 1/2 pounds ripe yellow nectarines or peaches (4 to 5 medium) pitted and cut into four to eight pieces each, depending on your mood or the size of the fruit
2 to 4 tablespoons granulated sugar (depending on how sweet your fruit is)
pinch of salt
5 tablespoons creme fraiche

Roll out the pie dough and fit it into a pie plate and secure and crimp the edges. Prick the bottom of the dough all over with a fork, and transfer to the freezer for at least 30 minutes (if your pie dough is already frozen and in a pie plate, just keep it frozen).

Streusel: stir all of the dry ingredients together, starting with only four tablespoons of the flour. Add the cold butter, and combine with your fingertips until it's all coarse crumbs, adding more flour as necessary. Put in the fridge while you do everything else. (This time I made the streusel the night before and tucked it in a plastic bag in the fridge so it was all ready for baking the next day.)

Par-bake: Preheat the oven to 350. Tightly cover your pie crust with aluminum foil. Add pie weights, and bake for 30 minutes, the foil and weights in place the whole time, then remove to a rack to cool, and remove the pie weights.

And okay here is where I tell you my favorite par-baking trick for pie crusts: everyone says to use pie weights or beans or whatever: use sugar! Make sure you line the crust with a big sheet of foil (or even a double sheet), and pour sugar liberally into the pan, making sure to press it against the edges well. Then, when you are done par baking the crust, you just lift the foil out of the pie plate and put it in a bowl until the sugar cools, and then pour it back into your sugar canister. I got this tip from this article, and it has made par baking so much easier!

Turn the oven up to 375 F.

Filling: Sprinkle the fruit with sugar and salt and let sit for ten minutes. Spread two tablespoons of creme fraiche in the bottom of the pie shell, sprinkle with a third of the streusel, and place the fruit inside. Dot the rest of the creme fraiche on the fruit, and sprinkle with the rest of the streusel.

Bake the pie at 375 for 50-55 minutes, until it's bubbling and the streusel is a golden brown. Let cool before serving, and store any leftovers in the fridge. Enjoy!

And okay, here is my favorite pie crust recipe, from a long deleted food blog (with lots of edits from me) from Chez Pim. It is all butter, delicious, you don’t need a food processor for it, and it rolls out like a dream.

The Pie Crust to Rule Them All

(enough for two 9 inch rounds, or one top/bottom pie)

250 grams or 2 1/4 cups flour
225 grams or 8 ounces butter*
60 ml or 1/4 cup cold water

*she said salted butter, I use whatever I have, and just add salt if I use unsalted

Measure the flour and dump it in a big wide bowl (the original recipe said to do this on the counter top, but doing it in a very large bowl is much easier and less messy for me). Cut the butter into relatively thin slices, and drop them on top of the butter, making sure to shake the bowl between every four slices or so so the butter gets coated in flour. Once it's all in there, press the butter with the heels of your hands over and over again, so the butter gets worked into the flour. Once it looks mostly worked in make a well in the middle of the pile and pour the water in, and then use your fingers to mix it all in, just until it becomes a cohesive dough. Then wrap it in plastic wrap and stick it in the fridge for about 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, take it out of the fridge, liberally flour your counter or cutting board, and roll it out into a long rectangle. Fold the rectangle into thirds like a letter, turn it, and roll it again. Do this three or four times, refrigerate again for 30 or so minutes (or, at this point, you can cut the dough into two sections, wrap well and freeze), and you're done! Now you can roll it out for any pie you want to make.

Have a great weekend, all!

Jasmine