Nectarine Pie with Almond Crumb Topping

4.75 from 8 votes

Nectarine Pie with Almond Crumb Topping

This fresh nectarine pie has a tender, flaky crust filled with sweet nectarines and topped with a delicious almond crumb topping. Serve with a scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream for the perfect summer dessert! Adapted from William-Sonoma "Home Baked Comfort", and "Pie" by Ken Haedrich

Prep Time45

Cook Time1

Total Time1 45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 500kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

Pie Dough

1¼ cups (150 g) all-purpose flour
¼ tsp kosher salt
7 tbsp (99 g) unsalted butter very cold and cut into cubes
5 tbsp ice water more if necessary

Nectarine Filling

6 cups ripe nectarines pitted and sliced (unpeeled)
½ cup + plus 2 Tbs (124 g) granulated sugar divided
1½ tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2½ tbsp cornstarch
¼ tsp almond extract

Almond Crumb Topping

¾ cup (43 g) whole or slivered almonds
½ cup (99 g) sugar
½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
¼ tsp salt
6 tbsp (3/4 stick) (85 g) unsalted butter cold and cut into ¼-inch pieces

Instructions

Pie Crust

In bowl of food processor or by hand using a pastry cutter, stir together the flour, and salt. Sprinkle butter over top and pulse for a few seconds. If by hand, cut the butter in using your pastry cutter until it slightly broken up into the flour but is still visible in pieces.
Evenly sprinkle the ice water over the flour mixture, then process just until the mixture starts to come together.
Evenly sprinkle the ice water over the flour mixture, then process just until the mixture starts to come together. Dump the dough into a large zip lock bag and press into a flat disk. Refrigerate until firm enough to be rolled, about 1 hour.
On a sheet of lightly floured wax paper, roll half the pastry into a 13-inch circle with a floured rolling pin. Invert the pastry over a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie pan, center, and peel off the paper. Tuck the pastry into the pan, with out stretching it, and sculpt the edge into an upstanding ridge. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Nectarine Filling

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, combine the nectarines, 1/2 cup of the sugar, the lemon juice, and lemon zest. Set aside for 10 minutes to juice.
Combine the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and the cornstarch in a small bowl, then stir the mixture into the fruit. Stir in the almond extract.
Scrape the filling in to the chilled pie shell, smoothing the fruit with a spoon. Place the pie on the center oven rack and bake for 30 minutes.

Almond Crumb Topping

While pie is baking, make the topping. Combine the almonds and the sugar in a food processor, pulsing in short bursts to chop the almonds well. Add the flour and the salt and pulse briefly to mix.
Scatter the butter over the dry ingredients and pulse until the mixture looks like fine crumbs. Dump the crumbs into a large bowl and rub between your fingers to make large, buttery crumbs. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Remove the pie from the oven and reduce the temperature to 375F. Carefully dump the crumbs in the center of the pie, spreading them evenly and tamping them lightly with your hands.
Return the pie to the oven, placing it so that the part that faced the back of the oven now faces forward. Just in case, slide a large aluminum-foil-lined baking sheet onto the rack below to catch any spills. Continue to bake until the juices bubble thickly around the edge, 30 to 40 minutes.
Transfer the pie to a wire rack and let cool for at least 2 hours before serving.

Notes

Do Not Overwork Your Dough. You can totally make your dough by hand. I totally do all the time. In fact, you're less likely to overwork it if you don. But for this pie I did use my food processor. Just be sure when using the food processor, to pulse the dough together. If you just let it run for too long it can result is overworking your dough, causing that gluten stuff to act up resulting in a tough dough.
Use butter. There are many debates about using half shortening/half butter to achieve the perfect flavor/flakiness ration. Shortening, though, is well- it's icky. Seriously, what is that stuff? Trust me, use all butter, and your hands and you will get that great flavor to flake ratio.
Use very, very cold butter. I like to cut up my butter into small chunks and then re-freeze it afterwards. Just the warmth of the knife can soften it too much. For a great step by step tutorial, check out smitten kitchen's post on how to make perfect pie dough.
Use ICE cold water. Sensing a theme here? Pie crust is all about the COLD. If the water is too warm it will melt the butter. So ice cold water! I like to put a few ice cubes in my water and chill it down. Just don't add the ice ;)

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