Surprise Monday newsletter with all sorts of good news in it! (and also pie)
Hi friends! Sorry I disappeared from newsletter world for a few weeks there; I 100% meant to sent out newsletters from the road while on my book tour, but between the many events and flights and some bad hotel wifi, it didn't happen. But in between the last time I sent a newsletter and today, some exciting things happened! The Wedding Party came out! (Order links all in that link there!) The Wedding Party hit the New York Times Bestseller List and the USA Today Bestseller List! I was very excited about all of that, and so grateful to all of you who have bought my books, or asked your library to buy them, or reviewed them somewhere, or recommended them to a friend, or came to any of my events -- you all did this for me, and I feel so fortunate to have all of you! I mostly documented my tour over on my Instagram page, and it was so great to meet so many of you in person!
And as a little gift from my publisher, the ebook of The Wedding Date is on sale for $1.99 right now! Find it at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Apple Books, and wherever else ebooks are sold! Go forth and buy it or tell all of your friends!
As for other books to buy this week, I have to give a little shout out to all of the books from all of the people who were in conversation with me over the past few weeks on my book tour (many of these books I've recommended here before!). The Royal We, by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors, by Sonali Dev, Fumbled, by Alexa Martin, The Optimist's Guide to Letting Go, by Amy E. Reichert, and Waiting For Tom Hanks, by Kerry Winfrey. All of these authors have other books too, so dive in and read them all!
Before I get to the recipe, one note about the enchilada recipe from the last newsletter (which I linked there, for those of you new to my newsletter!). I was typing too quickly and transposed one minor thing: strain the sauce to get any seeds/skin out AFTER you cook the whole thing, not after pureeing; it's far easier that way. So sorry for the incorrect instruction!
I have not cooked in weeks, but here's a recipe for a pie I mentioned while chatting about baking with Kerry Winfrey, who also loves to bake (she said her next book is about a baker, which I'm VERY excited to read). I got it slightly wrong when talking about this pie, so here's the actual recipe; it's so easy to make, and works as dessert or, as the best possible thing, pie for breakfast. I got it from Smitten Kitchen, who got it from Martha Stewart Living, and it's as good as it sounds from that pedigree. Also, I'll confess that I've made this pie without par baking the bottom crust before and it was good, but I admit it's far better if you do par bake. I used to be VERY bad at par baking bottom crusts, and then the incredible Stella Parks taught me everything I was doing wrong (her fantastic article about that is linked below).
Peach and Creme Fraiche Pie
1/2 recipe of your favorite pie crust (mine is in this old newsletter, scroll down), or you can use purchased crust if you want
Streusel
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons all purpose flour
4 tablespoons/2 ounces cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
Filling
1 1/2 pounds ripe yellow peaches, pitted and quartered (4 to 5 medium peaches)
2 to 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
5 tablespoons creme fraiche
Roll out the pie dough to about 1/8 inch thick, and put it in a 9-10 inch pie pan (non deep dish is best, but work with what you've got). Trim the sides and crimp the edges, prick the bottom of the dough all over with a fork, and put in the freezer for 30 minutes (cover well with plastic wrap after thirty minutes if you're going to leave it in for longer). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees before you take the pan out.
To par bake the crust: tightly press aluminum foil against the frozen pie crust, making sure there's enough foil to cover the edges. Fill the aluminum lined pie crust with sugar (click here to see why sugar is the best pie weight and all of the other great par baking tips; don't worry, you can save and reuse the sugar afterward!). Bake for 30 minutes at 350 (with the aluminum on the entire time), until the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. When the aluminum foil is cool enough, carefully take it off the pie and pour the sugar into a jar or canister. Turn the oven up to 375 degrees.
While the crust is baking, make the streusel: stir the powdered sugar, baking powder, salt, and three tablespoons of the flour together in a bowl. Add the cold butter, and work it into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs (it's easiest to use your fingers for this). Add more flour as needed (the original recipe calls for 4-6 tablespoons of flour, but I've had to use all 6 every time I've done it, but this can depend on how warm and humid your kitchen is). Put in the fridge until you're ready to use (unless your kitchen is cool, then just set aside).
To make the filling: sprinkle the quartered peaches with sugar and salt, and let sit for ten minutes. Spread two tablespoons of the creme fraiche into the bottom of the pie shell, sprinkle with a third of the streusel, and fan the peach quarters on top. Dollop the rest of the creme fraiche on and around the peaches, and sprinkle with the remaining streusel.
To bake the pie: Slide the pie in the oven and bake for about 50 minutes, until the filling is bubbling and the streusel is golden brown. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving, but also this is a pie that's fantastic the next day straight out of the fridge.
Enjoy, and have a fantastic week, everyone!
Jasmine
Find me elsewhere! Facebook Instagram Twitter
Buy The Wedding Date, The Proposal, and The Wedding Party and preorder Royal Holiday out 10/1!