Do you ever watch “The Best Thing I Ever Ate” on Food Network? It may be the worst possible show to watch when you’re hungry. I was watching the “crunchy” episode when I saw this. Peach-raspberry crunch pie. So all my plans for making a regular raspberry pie went out the window.

The peaches peeled properly this time, by the way. But they were a little too soft and I sliced them a bit too thin. So they weren’t as firm in the pie as they should have been. Read this post for instructions on peeling and slicing.

So avoid super soft peaches and try not to slice them too thin. Otherwise, this pie was pretty amazing.

Oh yeah… there was also the matter of the crust. I used a single-crust recipe that included butter and shortening (the other ones I made had only butter, and those crusts were too chewy) and it was really good. The only problem is that it shrunk and ended up flaky, buttery and tiny. Sigh.

So, if pie crusts are as challenging for you as they apparently are for me, use a frozen one. Either way, you should pre-bake it for 10-15 minutes before you put the filling and crunchy topping on top.

I kind of adapted this from a couple different recipes. The peach-raspberry filling recipe I had involved flour, but I thought cornstarch and a little tapioca would be better. And I reduced the sugar a little since the topping is sweet. I’ll give you both options, in case you don’t have corn starch/tapioca.

This is best the day it’s made. But it’s not exactly terrible the next day, either.
Peach-raspberry crunch pie (adapted from an older edition of Essentials of Baking)
Pie crust
Preheat oven to 375 and pre-bake crust for about 15 minutes. It should be lightly browned on the edges but not completely done. Remove from oven, but leave it on.

Filling
5 cups firm-ripe sliced peaches (about 4 pieces)
3 tablespoons corn starch*
1 tablespoon tapioca*
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup raspberries

In a large bowl, combine the peaches, corn starch, tapioca, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Stir until blended. Gently fold in raspberries until evenly distributed.

Crunch topping
3/4 cup plus 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch salt
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

In a medium bowl, stir together brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and salt. Sprinkle the butter pieces on top and toss with a fork to combine. Using your fingers or a pastry blender**, cut the ingredients together until the mixture resembles large, coarse crumbs about the size of peas.

To assemble pie: Pour peach-raspberry mixture into semi-baked pie shell. Sprinkle crumble topping on top (leaving a hole in the middle, if desired). Place a cookie sheet on the rack below the pie to catch dripping filling. Bake pie for 45-55 minutes, until topping is golden and the filling begins to bubble. Allow to cool before serving.

*You can substitute 1/4 cup all-purpose flour for the corn starch and tapioca.
**If you use your fingers, rinse your hands with cold water first. I used my fingers at first but ended up using a fork to finish combining the topping ingredients because the butter was melting and it wasn’t combining properly.