Few dishes say “summer” like fresh peach pie. There’s a time and place for canned or frozen peaches, but this isn’t it. Here, the sweet, sunny flavors of juicy peaches take center stage. Ground cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg provide warmth; substitute other baking spices like ginger or allspice if you prefer. To peel ripe peaches, drop them into a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, transfer to an ice bath, then pull off the skin with your fingers when the fruit is cool enough to handle (if peeling peaches doesn’t sound like your idea of a good time, go ahead and leave the skins on; they’ll add some extra thickening power to the filling and a slight bitterness that offsets the sweetness). Taste the fruit before tossing it with the remaining ingredients. If their flavor isn’t as bright as you’d like, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or some lemon zest to the peach pie filling.
We like our homemade peach pie with a lattice top, but if you prefer a double crust, meaning a solid top and bottom crust, you’ll have plenty of dough (just make sure to cut a few slits in the top crust before baking). You could also halve the pie crust recipe and crown your fruit pie with a golden brown crumb topping, like the one in this cinnamon apple pie recipe. If you opt for a lattice pie but don’t have raw or sanding sugar to sprinkle on top, regular old granulated or brown sugar works too. Serve warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.