With the fruit season at its peak, there’s no question what should be the dessert of choice: fresh fruit pies highlighting local, flavor-filled goodness.

Whether you favor a crumble topping, an easy-to-make icebox pie, or a traditional crust with not-so-traditional filling, nothing beats a pasty adorned with the natural sweetness of local farmers’ fruits.These three pies are guaranteed to have your mouth watering, and beg to be topped by a scoop (or two) of your favorite vanilla ice cream (check out our non-dairy/vegan favorites!).

Ginger Plum Pie

1 Easy Pastry (recipe follows)
5 cups plums, quartered and stoned
1 cup sugar or Sucanat, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 to 3 teaspoons ground ginger (to taste)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon butter or non-dairy margarine

Preheat oven to 425F.

Line a 9-inch pie plate with your pastry. Place plums, sugar, flour, lemon, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Combine well. Pour into the pastry shell, and dot the filling with butter or margarine.

Moisten the edges of the bottom crust and cover with the top crust. Finish the edges and use a sharp knife to create a few slits in the top. Sprinkle with additional sugar.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F and bake for an additional 45 to 60 minutes until plums are tender and crust is golden. Let stand at least 2 hours before serving.

Fruit Crumble Pie

for the crumble:
3/4 cup flour
6 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch salt
6 tablespoons butter or non-dairy margarine, chilled and cut into pieces

for the rest of the pie:
1/2 Easy Pastry
5 cups fruit (blueberries and peaches make a good mix)
3/4 cup sugar or Sucanat
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Pinch salt

Start with the crumble. Mix all ingredients except for the butter/margarine into a small bowl. Use your fingers to distribute the butter/margarine throughout the mixture until large clumps form. Place in refrigerator until needed.

For the rest of the pie, preheat the oven to 400F. Mix the fruit with the sugar, flour, lemon juice and salt. Pour into prepared pastry and sprinkle with the crumble topping.

Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350F and bake until fruit bubbles and crust is golden brown, about 1 hour longer. Let cool at least 2 hours before serving.

Easy Pastry

2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar or Sucanat
2 sticks unsalted butter or 1 cup non-dairy margarine, chilled and cut into pieces
4 tablespoons ice cold water, plus more as needed

Mix flour with salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in the butter/margarine until  the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

Add water and mix until the dough comes together, adding just enough water until no longer crumble. Do not overhandle the dough.

Divide the dough in half, flatten into disks, wrap individually in plastic and refrigerate until needed, at least 1 hour.

Before using, roll the dough on a floured surface into a 14-inch round, then transfer carefully to your pie plate, proceeding as the recipe indicates.

Strawberry Refrigerator Pie

10 graham crackers, crushed
3/4 cup sugar or Sucanat, divided
5 tablespoons melted butter or non-dairy margarine
1/2 cup tart cherry juice
2 quarts fresh strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
1/4 cup tapioca starch
Pinch salt
Whipped cream, for topping
Whole strawberries to garnish

Preheat oven to 350F. Whizz graham crackers and 2 tablespoons sugar in the food processor until crushed. Add butter/non-dairy margarine and pulse until crumbles are sticky. Scrape the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and press evenly. Place in oven and bake for about 12 minutes until lightly browned, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

While the crust is cooling, place the rest of the sugar, cherry juice, 2 cups strawberries, tapioca starch and salt into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and gently mash strawberries with the back of a fork. Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until thick, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes, then stir in remaining strawberries.

Pour strawberry mixture into cooled crust and refrigerate until set, about 5 hours.

Before serving, prepare whipped cream, top the pie, and garnish with whole strawberries.

Image courtesy of wikimedia

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