Spiced Peach Jello Pie
Spiced Peach Jello Pie - Don’t Knock it till’ you try it!
In 2004, my sister sat on the cookbook committee at her local church in Cary, NC when they collected their recipes for the cookbook Colonial Family Favorites. When I got a copy of the cookbook for Christmas that year I was ridiculously thrilled because I LOVE me a good church lady recipe - better yet, a collection of recipes! And why do I love me church lady recipes? I don’t know about you, but every single church potluck I’ve been to, I’ve wanted the recipe to almost everything on the dessert table (and a few of the casseroles, too!) because they were all made by beautiful ladies who love to cook and bake love into everything they make.
As I perused the recipe collection, I came across this recipe, and my initial thought was Jello Pie?? Probably exactly what you’re thinking right now. Weird.
As I read the recipe, I thought, “OK, this sounds like a fruity Jello mold dumped in a pie crust.” It was weird enough to try, and maybe it was the nostalgia taking over from eating Jello as a kid, maybe I was wanting peaches…I dunno, but I made it, and my husband and I fell in love.
And if you judge this pie based on the name, the humble appearance, or whatever, you’re missing out. Besides, shame on you for judging a church lady pie. Shame. On. You.
Spiced Peach Jello Pie
You should well know by now that I am not going to offer up something icky.
I cheated the first time, though, and used a store bought rolled pie crust and blind baked it according to the package directions. I’m here to tell you that is pretty dang tasty, and while it takes less time, the crust given here makes the whole pie even better. The coconut sugar adds another layer of earthy warmth to the overall pie flavor, and the crust comes together in a jiffy!
This recipe calls for making two pies in tins, which allows you to share one with a friend or neighbor, but I have always made this in a deep dish pie plate and called a few friends over. Or my husband and I generally eat it all within a few days (if that). If you do a deep dish pie plate, the crust will be a little thicker all around, but no one ever complains about the deeper slices or the thicker crust. No one.
Delicious ingredients and helpful tool links below recipe!
Peach Jello Pie
Adapted from a recipe from Sonia White in NC.
Adapted? It means I put my own lovely spin on Ms. Sonia’s delish original recipe.
Pastry:
2 cups flour
4 tbsp Origine Naturals Coconut Sugar
3/4 cup butter
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)
Preheat your oven to 300F. Combine flour and coconut sugar. Work butter into flour & sugar with a pastry cutter or fork (your fingers work well, too) until mix is mealy looking. Some larger sized butter pieces are OK. The texture will be somewhere between a regular pie dough and a graham cracker crust.
Next, stir in egg yolks with a fork. Using your hands, work to form 2 equal sized balls of dough if making 2 smaller pies or one large dough ball for a singular deep dish pie. You can lightly wet your hands if you need to add a tiny bit of moisture to make the dough form. You shouldn’t need to do this more than once.
Press dough into two pie tins or one large deep dish pie plate until you have an even layer of dough that comes to the rim. Using the back of a stiff measuring cup or the flat bottom of a glass will help.
Poke the bottom of the dough with a fork, sprinkle with finely chopped pecans (if using). Put parchment paper on top of crust and place pie beads or dry beans in the pie dish to prevent the bottom crust from puffing up while cooking.
Bake at 300F for 20-30 minutes. If using a deep dish, you’ll bake closer to 30 minutes.
Filling:
1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 3oz. Box of peach Jello
5-8 peaches, depending on size of peach - You want enough to fill the pie
1 tsp Origines Natural Dragon Cinnamon
1 tsp Origines Natural Vanilla Extract
Once the pie crust comes out of the oven, begin making the filling.
Bring water, granulated sugar, and cornstarch to a boil, stirring to combine everything as it comes to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, immediately remove from heat and stir in peach Jello. Stir until the peach Jello dissolves. Allow to cool in pan.
As the above mixture is cooling, peel and slice your peaches - I personally like them thickly sliced, but this is pure preference - then lightly toss peaches with vanilla extract and cinnamon.
GENTLY mix dressed peaches into Jello mixture.
Pour the peaches and Jello mixture into the cooled dough, and spread around as evenly as you can.
Allow to chill in refrigerator for a minimum of 3-4 hours before serving.
Top it all off with fresh whipped cream for a perfect dessert!
Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links, and I earn a small commission from the sale of these goods.
