My Busy Mom Peach Pie Experiment
Alright, so yesterday was crazy. Work calls non-stop, kids needing stuff… you know how it goes. Zero time to even think about peeling fresh peaches for a pie I promised the family. Saw those cans of peaches in the pantry and thought, “Okay, canned peaches today. Let’s see if this shortcut actually works.”
First things first, I grabbed my biggest mixing bowl. Dumped in both cans of peaches, juice and all. Poured it straight into a colander over the sink to drain that liquid out – seriously, way more juice than I expected! Let those peaches sit there dripping for a good 10 minutes while I tackled step two.
The Crust Chaos (Always Happens)
Rolling out pie crust… why do I always forget how messy this is? Got the pre-made chilled dough from the fridge. Flour went everywhere covering the counter. That crinkly plastic wrapper fought me getting the dough out. Started rolling, and of course, the dough stuck to the rolling pin halfway through. Had to scrape it off angrily, add more flour, and keep going. Finally wrestled it into the pie dish. Pressed it down like my life depended on it.
Throwing Stuff Together
Now for the filling! Sloshed the drained peaches back into the mixing bowl. Poured in like 3/4 cup of sugar – canned peaches are pretty sweet already, right? Worried it might be too much. Added a big handful of flour, maybe 1/3 cup? Needed that thickener. Shook in a bunch of cinnamon – probably a teaspoon? Didn’t measure precisely. Splash of vanilla extract. Pinch of salt. Then I just went at it with a big spoon, stirring and smushing the peaches a little until it looked kinda like gluey peach soup. Dumped the whole sticky mess into the crust. Slopped it everywhere on the dish rim. Clean-up fail already.
The Lid Struggle & Into the Fire
Time for the top crust. Rolled out the second disk – same sticking nightmare. Tried to lay it gently over the mountain of peaches. Yeah, right. It tore instantly near the edge. Just kind of… patched it? Then I crimped the edges with my fingers, pretending I knew what I was doing. Poked a few sad looking holes in the top with a fork for steam. Didn’t look like the magazine pictures, that’s for sure. Shoved it into the preheated oven at 400 degrees F. Set the timer for 20 minutes for the high heat part.
Halfway through: Oh right! That “lower the temp” part I forgot! Timer went off, yanked the oven door open – hot air blast to the face – turned it down to 350 degrees F. Timer reset for another 40 minutes. Smell was getting good though!
The Waiting is the Worst Part
When the timer finally screamed, the crust looked golden-ish? Bubbly peach juice leaked out the sides onto the baking sheet. Good sign? Pulled it out and just stared at it. Needed to cool “completely”? Seriously? That felt impossible after all that effort. Waited maybe an hour while the kids asked “is it ready yet?” every five minutes. Couldn’t take it anymore. Cut a slice – filling still looked a bit watery. Held my breath.
Surprise! Tasted it. Okay, wow. Sweet? Yes, definitely. Maybe even a touch too sweet? But the texture was actually great – soft peaches, thick-ish gooey filling (the flour worked!), flaky crust. Not bad! Not bad at all for throwing canned stuff together while chaos reigned. Kids devoured it, husband asked for seconds. Honestly? For a desperate busy day pie using canned stuff? I’ll absolutely do this again. Super easy win.
What I Learned from Canned Peaches
- Drain those peaches REALLY well. Like, way longer than you think.
- Go easy on the sugar next time. Those cans are packed sweet. Maybe 1/2 cup?
- Pre-made crust is sanity. Rolling it sucks, but making from scratch today? No way.
- Set the temp-timer reminder. Forgot once, won’t forget twice.
- Ignore the ugly leaks. Tastes good anyway.
Yeah, canned peach pie is totally legit for crazy days. Just don’t sweat the mess!
