The Pie Crust Queen of Johnson County, Iowa

After having watched one too many cooking contests on the Food Network and reading a forgettable book about a woman who won the Pillsbury Bake-Off, I decided to enter the pie contest in this year's county fair in Johnson County, Iowa. Now, I have always thought that I make a pretty mean pie, but I figured that by entering a pie contest in Iowa--the heart of the heartland--I'd have some pretty steep competition. That being the case, my strategy was to come up with something innovative. I kicked around a number of ideas before coming up with the two recipes: Jumbleberry Basil Pie (a delightful combination of blueberries and strawberries in a basil-infused syrup, with a cornmeal-basil crust) and Grandma Eleanor's Honey Almond Peach Pie (which was pretty much what it sounds like, but with the surprising addition of lavender in the crust).

The night before the contest I made the crusts and then the following morning whipped up the fillings. I have to say, the berry pie was fabulous--that is, until the crust on one edge fell off in the oven. I took one look at my poor Jumbleberry pie and decided there was no way I could enter it in the contest. So, into the fridge it went, and it made a yummy breakfast for a week thereafter.

The peach pie, however, fared better. It was delightful, nicely browned, and even had decorative stars on the top. My friend Amanda who delivered the pie to the Fair for me said the ladies taking the entries called it beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture. And, after the judging, the pies were auctioned off, so I didn't get it back to take a picture then.

What's worse is that I missed the entire contest itself. I made the pie, gave it to Amanda who delivered it, and then didn't make it back to the Fair until 5:30, an hour after the contest had ended. And, once I was there, I couldn't find anyone who could tell me what happened. I was so bummed. But, today, here in the mitten state, I got a surprise package at my door. Inside was an award certificate, a pie server, and a letter thanking me for my pie entry and congratulating me on winning "Best Crust!" It's official, I make the best pie crust in Johnson County, Iowa. Well, okay, that may be a bit of a stretch. But, I did make the best pie crust in the Johnson County Fair's 2008 Pie Contest.

After learning that I won, and whooping a bit, I did some Googling and found an article printed in the Iowa City Press Citizen about the contest (there's even an instructional video on how to make pie crust featuring my recipe). I have to say that even though I didn't win the best overall pie, I'm pretty excited that I won something as cool as "Best crust" in my first cooking contest ever. Pillsbury here I come!

And, here's the winning recipe:

Grandma Eleanor's Honey Almond Peach Pie

Crust

2 cups flour
1 cup ground almonds
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar, plus one teaspoon for dusting
2 teaspoons lavender
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons lemon zest (from two lemons)
15 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces
2 ½ tablespoons shortening
6-8 tablespoons ice water
1 egg white

Filling

7 cups of sliced peeled peaches
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons Minute Tapioca
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon each, vanilla and almond extracts
juice of one lemon

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Prepare crust: Mix flour, ground almonds, salt, sugar, lemon zest, and lavender in food processor until combined, approximately 10 seconds. Add butter and shortening and pulse until mixture is pea size. Sprinkle mixture with vinegar and pulse once. Add water in tablespoon increment, while pulsing the food processor, until crust just comes together. Dived mixture into two balls, flatten each into a 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate.
3. Prepare filling: Toss peach slices, honey, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extracts, cinnamon, and tapioca in a medium bowl. Let stand 15 minutes.
4. Roll one ball of dough and transfer to a 9-inch pie plate by rolling dough around a rolling pin and unrolling over the pan. Turn peach mixture into the dough-lined pie plate. Roll out second ball of dough and place it over the filling. Crimp the edges of the pie and cut 4 slits in the dough top. Brush the egg white over the top of the crust and sprinkle with remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar.
5. Place the pie on a baking sheet and bake 40-55 minutes until the juices bubble and the crust is deep golden brown.