Millions of Peaches - Mile High Crumble Pie

For some reason when I think of the summer holidays I always think of homemade ice cream and pie. There is something so Americana about a homemade pie. I love pie. My Nana's chocolate pie is a treasured recipe that I will pass along to you at some point in life. I also love fruit pies, especially ones involving peaches. I grew up in Texas which is peach cobbler territory. Peach cobblers were a staple at all church pot lucks and family get togethers.
Last week I was asked to prepare a meal for a family that included dessert so I decided to make a pie. I sort of went a bit overboard with this pie because I wanted to prepare the pie in a traditional crust but I wanted to create a crumble top. Crumbles are the perfect crunchy partner to pair with a soft and delicate pie, especially one that involves tender juicy peaches and fresh plump strawberries. When I went to the store to buy peaches I saw that the peaches looked terrible and were hard as rocks so I ended up using canned peaches. Please don't think less of me. This allowed me to shave off a good 30 minutes of pealing and pitting peaches, which time is money for me when I have a little Muffin hanging around my leg. This pie was a yummy treat for a hot summer day and will be a great addition to your Memorial Day dishes.

Mile High Crumble Pie

1 store bought deep dish pie crust (feel free to make it homemade)
1 large can (26 oz?) of peaches drained really well (in a few weeks are in season, you can use fresh peaches. You will need about 6 large peaches peeled and sliced and you should increase the sugar amount to 1/2 cup)
12-14 large size strawberries rinsed, hulled, and cut in quarters (almost a whole small container at the store)
2 1/2 Tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 and bake the pie crust for 8-10 minutes. Be sure you poke holes in the crust before baking to allow the steam bubbles to escape.
In a large bowl toss the fruit and remaining ingredients. You can easily change out the fruit if you want. Blackberries or blueberries would be great, or a combination of all three. 
Once the shell has baked, pour the fruit filling into the pie. It is going to stick up a bit (hence the mile high) but just wait until you get the crumble on there. It is best to place the pie on a cookie sheet before baking so that you don't start a fire!

Crumble topping
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup steel cut oats (quick cooking, not instant kind) 
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter chilled and cut into cubes

Combine all ingredients, except the butter, into a bowl and stir until combined. Add the butter cubes and using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry mix. If you don't have a pastry cutter you can use a large serving fork to help. I like to get the butter mixed with the pastry cutter first then I like to stick my hands in there and get it mixed. Using your hands will allow for you to really get the butter good and mashed into the topping. It will sort of feel like a dry cookie dough batter. I like to make a few big hunks that stick together.
Once you have combined the crumble, pile the crumble topping over the fruit and evenly spread it out. Be sure you use all of the crumble since it is the best part!

Place the pie in the oven and bake for 45 minutes until crumble has browned.

This is great paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or just left alone.

Enjoy Y'all!