Stars and Stripes Strawberry Peach Pie

I got up this morning, planning to make a peach cobbler to go along with the Homemade Ice Cream Jeff is planning to make this evening. We have two peach trees here at home and we've been anxiously awaiting them to ripen and today was finally the day and it just happens to be 4th of July and we have a family cookout tonight! I mean, whats Independence Day without peaches and ice cream???

I shared a picture from my last years red, white, and blue stars and stripes pie and I really wanted to make something prettier than just a cobbler. I usually cook pretty simple stuff, but when I decide to really cook, I go all out. (We have chicken marinating for Jerk Chicken on the grill tonight, I've made herb butter for corn on the cob, baked a pie, and prepared corn to take to our 4th of July get together already today plus started a batch of homemade herb and citrus cleaner.)

So I got to thinking - Last years pie was strawberries and blueberries... Could I do strawberries and peaches? I looked on pinterest and saw a few recipes for a Strawberry and Peach Pie, so I decided I was going to make my own version. I must confess, I've never had this combination of fruit pie, but its worth a shot, right? Jeff picked fresh peaches and we bought strawberries on sale yesterday, but I didn't have a crust on hand.

I can make homemade pie crust, I've just got lazy about doing it and have been buying store bought crust. Want to know my secret to pie crust? It's a pastry mat! Grandmama could make the perfect pie crust and roll it out just right and never measure. This girl needs some help and the pastry mat keeps me from rolling out the crust to far (and making it too thin) and then I can cut the size I need and it fits right in my pie plate. Also great for homemade pizza crust!

I also double my pie crust recipe almost anytime I make it, more especially since this one was going to have a top on it.  I rolled out the one for the bottom, then took cookie cutters to cut out stars and used a knife to make stripes. I had plenty of extra crust, so I outlined the entire pie with stars. 

I brushed the crust with some buttermilk (we don't have any regular milk on hand,) then sprinkled some sugar on top and into the oven it went!

 Oh my Stars and Stripes!!! Can't wait to cut into the pie tonight, with a dollop of homemade ice cream on top!

Janice's Pie Crust Recipe:

2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
6-7 tablespoons cold water

Mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening with pastry cutter. Add water till ball forms (the less water, the better.) Roll out on pastry mat and cut to exact dimensions of pie plate.

Recipe can be doubled to make 3 small crust. I used a double recipe for this pie and then had a few scraps leftover and baked them with sugar and cinnamon. I loved it when Grandmama baked the extra scraps of crust and let me have them!

Stars and Stripes Strawberry Peach Pie Recipe:

2 cups fresh strawberries
4 cups fresh peaches
1/3 cup flour
1 cup sugar plus some for sprinkling on top.
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (or a big dash if you like a lot, like we do)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
dash salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
tablespoon cornstarch
milk for brushing on crust

Cut up fresh fruit, toss with lemon juice, then mix with all dry ingredients. I added a little bit of cornstarch to thicken up the juice.

Pour mixture into prepared pie crust. Now the fun part - decorating the top! I had prepared my stars and stripes ahead of time, so my fruit wouldn't be sitting on the pie crust, while I made the decorations. I layered the cutouts, then brushed with buttermilk. (Could also use egg or regular milk, I chose to use buttermilk, since that's what we had on hand.) Sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes. After 30 minutes, I covered the edges of the crust with foil, to keep them from burning. Remove from oven and let cool.

You could cut any shapes or decorations out for the top of the pie and serve it anytime you wish or simply make a lattice top.