Under the Sun in Sweet Carolina

Peach Blueberry Streusel Pie - oh my!!!!

Peak summer fruits bake into a luscious, jammy filling that gets covered with a brown sugar and cinnamon crumble topping. Easy, peasy. This is so popular that I have learned to keep extra topping in the freezer for a quick dessert for unexpected occasions. I’ll show you how.

There was a time when summer didn’t arrive by the calendar but by the sweet, warm scent of fruit ripening in the sun. In the foothills of North Carolina, where I once lived, the seasons spoke through nature—and summer whispered its arrival through the blueberry bushes and peach trees.

The blueberry patch was just a short drive from home, nestled beside a white clapboard church and a dusty old barn that leaned ever so slightly to one side. Mornings were best—when the dew still clung to the leaves and the sun had yet to blaze overhead. I’d pull on my hat and an old pair of sneakers and head down the path with a tin pail swinging at my side. The bushes were thick and lush, their branches sagging with plump, dusky orbs. You had to reach under the leaves, where the best ones hid, cool and bursting with juice.

There was a rhythm to blueberry picking. The quiet plink of berries hitting the bottom of the pail. The hum of bees weaving through the air, busy and unbothered. I’d fill my bucket while letting my mind wander—sometimes to the cobbler I’d bake that afternoon, or to the mason jars I’d line up on the counter for homemade jam.

Then came the peach orchard.

If blueberries were gentle and demure, peaches were bold and fragrant—sun-kissed and dripping with Southern goodness. The orchard stretched for acres, a rolling sea of green with trees heavy from the weight of golden fruit. The air itself was sticky with sugar, and my every step seemed to sink a little deeper into the red Carolina clay.

Picking peaches wasn’t a tidy affair. I’d reach up, twist the fruit free, and wipe the fuzz from my shirt before biting into it, juice running down my chin and elbow before I knew it. No store-bought peach could compare to one still warm from the sun, flavor-rich and honeyed, like something sacred.

I’d come home with baskets full—more than we could eat, which was always the point. I’d stand at the sink peeling peach skins in long, curling ribbons, slipping the flesh into pies and crumbles, freezing some for later, and saving the overripe ones for sweet tea infusions and homemade ice cream. Our little town had three peach orchards - I think it’s the reason our neighborhood had an ice cream social each year during peach season.

Those summer fruits—so simple, so fleeting—were more than food. They were a ritual. A celebration. A reminder that some of life’s finest pleasures are the ones you pluck straight from the earth and savor while the sun is still high.

And even now, whenever I catch a whiff of ripening fruit or feel the sticky peach juice on my hands, I’m back there—in North Carolina—under the orchard trees, bathed in sunlight, grateful for the sweetness of summer.

This is a must-try summertime favorite I’ve been making for as long as I can remember.

Peach Blueberry Streusel Pie

Crust

(or store-bought is fine)

1 cup all-purpose flour

¹/₈ teaspoon salt

¹/₃ cup cold butter, cut into chunks

3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Filling

³/₄ cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

¹/₂ teaspoon ground ginger

5 medium (3 cups) fresh peaches, peeled, sliced

1 cup fresh blueberries

2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest

Topping

³/₄ cup all-purpose flour

¹/₂ cup firmly packed brown sugar

¹/₂ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¹/₃ cup cold butter, cut into chunks

How to Prepare

1. STEP 1

   Heat oven to 400°F.

2. STEP 2

   Combine 1 cup of flour and salt in a bowl. Cut in 1/3 cup butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in enough water with a fork just until the flour is moistened.( A store-bought pie crust is fine.)

3. STEP 3

   Shape dough into a ball; flatten slightly. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle; fold into quarters. Place dough into an ungreased 9-inch pie plate; unfold, pressing firmly against the bottom and sides. Trim pastry to 1/2 inch from the edge of the pan. Crimp or flute edge.

4. STEP 4

   Combine sugar, cornstarch, and ginger in a bowl. Add peaches, blueberries, and lemon zest; toss lightly to coat. Spoon filling into the pastry.

5. STEP 5

   Combine 3/4 cup flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Cut in 1/3 cup butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping over fruit.

6. STEP 6

   Bake 45-50 minutes or until crust and topping are golden brown and juice begins to bubble. (If crust is beginning to brown too much, cover edges with aluminum foil.) Serve warm or cool.

Cook’s Note: I like to go ahead and prepare several recipes of this topping, put them into zip-top bags, and freeze them for those times when this dessert is needed in a hurry!