In the Pacific Northwest, we can count on September to be beautiful, and to some extent, a continuation of summer. Our warm days are still hanging around, but crisp mornings with rolling fog, dry grasses, leaves starting to fall and change color, all remind us that fall is knocking at the door. Trying to stretch summer out just a little bit longer, I decided to make this lovely Peach Cheesecake Pie. I couldn’t decide between a peach pie, or a peach cheesecake, so I combined the two and came up with this tasty Peach Cheesecake Pie.

Growing up in the foothills on the east side of the Cascades, we were not far from some of the best fruit growing regions of our state. It was a short drive to the iconic agricultural corridors of the Yakima Valley, Wenatchee Valley, Okanogan Valley, and Columbia Basin. We took advantage of our location by hopping in the car and heading to the farms and fruit stands, coming back with boxes of apples, plums, and peaches. My mom would spend hours preparing, canning, and baking our haul.

U-Pick Peaches (and other fruits & veggies)

Usually when talking about Washington fruit production, apples come to mind. However, due to the wonderful growing climate, the state is a quiet powerhouse for peach production. The family orchards throughout the valleys plant various types of peaches, taking care to select varieties that ripen throughout the season, ready for picking in August and September. Many of the farms offer U-pick peaches, as well as other types of fruit and vegetables. If you are in Washington, and wanting to find a U-Pick farm, here is a great link https://pickyourown.org/peach-orchards/WA-peaches.php. It breaks the state down into areas, listing farms in each area. Aside from peaches, you may want to pick other goodies. Here is harvest calendar link, so you can plan out your U-Pick adventure. https://www.pickyourown.org/WAharvestcalendar.htm

Roadside Fruit Stands

There are MANY roadside fruit stands in Central Washington. It is great to plan road-trip breaks around fun, roadside farmstands. Add some farmstead stops while on your U-Pick adventure. A couple of my favorites are Prey’s Fruit Barn in Leavenworth, WA https://www.facebook.com/preysfruitbarnandorchards/ as well as Smallwood’s Harvest in Peshastin https://www.smallwoods-harvest.com. These are just a couple of the many options, and only represent one tiny area of Washington’s growing regions.

Ingredients

Pie Crust (enough for (1) bottom crust, 9" pie plate)

1¼ Cup Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 Cup Butter, very cold, cut/shaved into small pieces Use a knife to shave off thin pieces
1/4 Cup Lard If you don't have lard, you can substitute with shortening, or simply use butter
1-2 tsp Water, very cold Continue to add extra water, a little bit at a time, if the dough doesn't come together

Cheesecake Layer

8 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature
1/3 Cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tsp Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

Peach Topping

3½ Cup Peaches, peeled, pitted, sliced About 4-5 large peaches
1/4 Cup Sugar
1/8 tsp Salt
Juice of ½ of a Lemon
2 Tbsp Cornstarch
1/4 Cup Water
1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Whipped Cream

1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 Tbsp Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Instructions

Pie Crust

Mix the dry Flour, Salt, and Sugar in a medium bowl
Add the cut/shaved butter and lard.
Using your fingers (or a pastry cutter), cut the fat into the flour mixture by rubbing and squishing the flour and butter/lard together. Continue until mostly incorporated, yet still small bits of butter left. It have a "sand-like" consistency, with little pea-sized bits.
Add 1 tsp of cold water. Use hands or spoon to stir and squish, trying to bring all the bits together into a shaggy dough. Your dough should not be too wet (tough and sticky), but should just hold together. If one tsp isn't enough to bring the dough together, slowly add another 1/2 teaspoon at a time.
Form dough into a ball and place on flour-covered parchment. Sprinkle with flour on top. Roll out dough to 13"-14" circle, large enough to fit into your pie plate. Take care to continually add flour on top, and underneath, to prevent sticking.
Place dough in pie plate. Trim excess dough. Press top edges to finish off the top. Use fork to poke holes in bottom of the crust.
Coat one side of 18" piece of aluminum foil with non-stick spray. Gently press into crust. Top with pie weights (or dried rice or beans).
Pop into oven. Bake 20-22 minutes. Remove from oven and gently take out the foil. Return to oven to finish baking, about 10 minutes, or until golden brown.
Set aside to cool.

Peach Topping

In a medium saucepan, combine the Sugar, Lemon Juice, Salt, and Peaches. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to draw out the juices.
Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the peaches begin to soften.
While peaches are cooking, make a cornstarch slurry by whisking the Cornstarch and Water together until smooth.
Once peaches have simmered for 5 minutes, add the cornstarch slurry, stirring until the mixture is thickened and glossy.
Remove from heat and stir in the Vanilla Extract.
Set aside (in the fridge if you want), until completely cooled.

Cheesecake Layer

While peaches are cooling, make the cheesecake layer by adding the Cream Cheese, Sugar, Lemon Juice and Vanilla to a medium sized bowl. With a hand mixer, blend them until fully combined and creamy.
Add the Heavy Whipping Cream to the bowl. Start your mixer on low, until the cream is combined with the cream cheese mixture, then turn your mixer up to high speed. Mix until VERY stiff, as this is the base layer, and has to be sturdy to hold your peaches.

Whipped Cream – dolloping on top

Add Heavy Whipping Cream, Powdered Sugar, and Vanilla to medium mixing bowl.
Mix on high until a firm whipped cream consistency.

Assembling the Cheesecake Pie

Spoon the Cream Cheese base into pie shell.
Use offset spatula to smooth and level.
Scoop completely cooled peach topping evenly over the cheesecake layer, keeping your eye out for whole, nice looking slices, which can be put on last, and arranged in a nice pattern.
Place in refrigerator for at least 4-5 hours before eating, preferably overnight, so the flavors can blend.
Top each slice with a dollop of whipped cream. Enjoy!

Peach Cheesecake Pie – Layered Peaches & Cream

U-Pick Peaches (and other fruits & veggies)

Roadside Fruit Stands