Free Form Peach Pie...

... or if you want to get all fancy about it, Peach Galette.  (No, I have no idea how to pronounce it.  That's why I call it the "free form peach pie".)

Remember the "I love strawberries" post?  Well, I love peaches too.  I love peaches a lot.  I eat them just like you would an apple - peach fuzz and all!  You can blame my father, he taught me to do it.  Everyone thinks I'm nuts for eating peach fuzz but in my own defense, I only eat peach fuzz on one type of peach... come to think of it, I only each one type of peach.  And they are peaches that can only be found at the farmer's market.  I have no idea what the name of the peach is but I know the flavor.  I've gotten peaches from the grocery store and they just aren't right.  So I tend to stock up on peaches I love once I find them.  The last time I got peaches, I wanted to make a pie but I didn't want to go through the whole process of actually making a pie (mainly because I was tired and it was around 8:30 at night when I suddenly had the bright idea to make something).  Enter Cooking Light.  Full of great recipes that are good to you and good for you! 

Now for a little product placement... you all know how much I love King Arthur Flour.  Awhile back, I placed an order that included a little thing called Instant ClearJel.  You're wondering what it is, aren't you?  According to all the reviews on the KAF website, the ClearJel is the greatest invention since sliced white bread, especially for people who bake fruit pies.  Fruit pies have this tendency to leak.  Leak a lot.  Instant ClearJel makes all that leaky mess disappear and form this lovely, yummy, gelatin-like substance.  You'll see in my picture that not ONE bit of my peach pie thingy (my other name for this recipe) leaked out of the sides!  Do you need ClearJel to make this recipe?  No - you could just as easily use cornstarch (but please dissolve it in a little water with a whisk or fork so you don't end up with cornstarch clumps!). 

Peach Galette / Free Form Peach Pie / Peach Pie Thingy
(courtesy of Cooking Light, Sept. 2001, adapted slightly by me!)

1 refrigerated pie crust
4 c. Peaches, fresh and pealed
1/4 - 1/3 c. Sugar (this all depends on how sweet your peaches are)
1/2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
2 Tbsp. Instant ClearJel (or Cornstarch)

Preheat oven to 425.
Line a large broiler pan or cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
Combine the peaches, sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and ClearJel/cornstarch.
Roll out your pie crust until it's around 11 or 12 inches (you can easily do this with your hands in the pan itself - why dirty up another dish?).
Pour the peach mixture into the center of the pie crust.
Using a spoon, flatten the mixture slightly, moving the filling towards the crust, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border of pie crust.
Now fold that 1 1/2 inch pie crust border OVER the peach mixture.  You aren't covering the peach mixture, you're just making a crust.  Don't make it look pretty, it's supposed to look rustic!
Bake in your preheated oven for 10 minutes.
Reduce the temp. to 350 (don't take out the peach thingy!) and bake for an additional 20 minutes (lower temp and turn on the timer - don't wait until the temp drops to 350).

Calories:  232 per serving (makes 8 servings)

Note:  Feel free to add blueberries to this dish if you'd like.  Use 1 c. blueberries with 3 c. peaches!