Introduction: Peaches and Cream Pie

About: I like stuff. What I lack in ability, I make up for in curiosity and enthusiasm.

Peaches and Cream Pie... delicious, pretty, and easy. And almost no cooking required!

I found the recipe online years ago (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/peaches-and-cream-pie-i/detail.aspx), and I had forgotten about it until we celebrated Pi Day at work, and now it is requested for every Pot Luck lunch or bake sale.

I shall now show you how easy it is, and you can impress your friends and family.

Step 1: The Ingredients

The shopping list is pretty straightforward:

I am showing the measurements to make 1 9" pie - you may double it easily, I think I've only made one pie, once.

*     1 Graham Cracker Crust - pre-made, or homemade.
*     1 4oz package of Cream Cheese (regular or light) - the block kind - softened
*     1/2 cup Icing Sugar
*     1/2 cup Non-Dairy Whipped Topping - thawed
*     1 3oz (85 grams) package of Peach Gelatin powder
*     1 3oz (85 grams) package of Vanilla Pudding powder* - the kind that needs to be cooked
*     1 1/4 cups water
*     1 15oz can of sliced Peaches (the big can) - drained

I can only get Vanilla Pudding powder in a 4.5oz (135 grams) box.
I use a scale and weigh out the powder, but for the purposes of this Instructable, I measured it out.
Loosely scooped - 1/2 cup, plus 2.5 Tablespoons = approximately 3oz.

Step 2: The Utensils

You will need:

*     Bowl
*     Mixer (or strong arms and a good spoon!)
*     Spatula
*     Can Opener
*     Saucepan
*     Whisk
*     Ladle

For spreading the "cream" layer - you may wish to use a smaller spoon or knife, or continue with the spatula. Whatever you are comfortable with.

You may wish to use a pot holder or oven mitt for the cooking part. If you are comfortable without, that's ok - just be safe and careful - sticky sugar burns are bad, bad, bad, and no amount of yummy peach pie will make it feel better.

Step 3: Cream Layer

You already have the graham cracker crust made or bought and ready to go.

Put the softened cream cheese in the mixing bowl, and whip it with the mixer (or strong arms & good spoon) until it is smooth. Should only take a moment if the cream cheese is soft.

Add the 1/2 cup icing sugar and mix with the cream cheese. Use the spatula to make sure all of the cream cheese and icing sugar gets mixed.

Add the 1/2 cup of non-dairy whipped topping, and mix once again. Your mixture should be nice and fluffy.

Pour your cream cheese mixture into your prepared graham cracker pie shell and smooth it out in a nice even layer in the bottom. It's okay to have it creep up the side a little, but we want it to be mostly in the bottom.

Step 4: Peach Layer

Now you can exercise a little creativity!

Arrange the peaches on the cream layer.

I usually do two different arrangements - generally you want a fairly even layer and placed quite close together, and something that looks pretty. Both designs are shown in the pictures, but feel free to do what you like.

In some of the other pictures you will see lots of leftover peaches - that's okay! They make a great snack. And more peaches means you can find the size of slice you want.

Step 5: The Glaze That Holds It All Together...

This is the hot part - so please be careful!

Put the vanilla pudding and peach gelatin powders in the pot and add water.
Put the pot on the stove and heat gently until boiling, stirring constantly so it is nice and smooth.

As you see in the pictures - at first it is a milky orange colour, but soon it will turn a lovely deep orange and more clear than milky.

Step 6: Adding the Glaze

Carefully pour the glaze over the pie - being sure to cover each peach and between the slices, without overflowing the pie pan.

If you had the help of a Keebler elf - you can use the dome lid from the crust to cover the pie. If you made a homemade crust - you may carefully cover the pie with plastic wrap - keeping the wrap away from the glaze, it will stick and be hard to get out, or will tear the glaze off once it has cooled.

Refrigerate the pie for 4 hours (or longer) for the gelatin to set.

Step 7: Serving

Time to enjoy the fruit of your labour!

The pie cuts easily, a regular table knife should do it, for best presentation, wipe the knife between cuts.

You could use a different fruit & gelatin combination, but the peach is so good, I haven't tried anything else.