Apricot Pie

So I know what you may be thinking with the title of this post -- it's only April, and apricots aren't in season until at least May??! Many posts ago, when I was in the beginning phase of this blog, I mentioned that there is a secret for having delicious apricot pie in the middle of winter (or any time of year that you choose). All it takes are some juicy ripe apricots, a freezer, and voila, you can have fruit pie year round.

Clearly I am obsessed with pies as evident from this blog, as I posted about strawberry rhubarb pie as one of my very first posts, follwed not too long after by a classic apple pie posting. As soon as spring turns into summer, I will be gathering a new batch of apricots and preparing pie filling all over again. Check out the how-to below...

Ingredients:

Filling:

Approximately 15 ripe apricots

1 cup sugar or a bit more

Pie Crust:

2 ¼ cups unbleached flour

¼ tsp. salt

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup milk

Directions:

1. Cut apricots into 6ths

2. Mix with sugar in a large bowl.

3. If freezing for later use, place the filling in a ziplock bag. In order to give it a good "shape" so the bag will store well in the freezer, place it in a loaf pan in the freezer for about one hour. remove from pan when the fruit has frozen solid, and store in freezer until ready to thaw and use!

Pie Crust:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix the above ingredients together until blended.

3. Divide dough into two parts; shape each half into a round ball using your hands.

4. Place the first ball between 2 sheets of waxed paper (tip: sprinkle a few drops of water under the bottom sheet of waxed paper to keep it from moving around as you roll).

5. Flatten with a rolling pin and (slowly!) remove the top sheet of paper.

6. Use the bottom sheet of wax paper to flip the flattened crust into your pie pan, then tidy up the shape of the crust however you like.

7. Prick crust several times with a fork to prevent air bubbles.

8. Pre-bake the bottom crust on lower third of oven for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack while preparing the filling (above).

9. Fill prepared bottom crust with fruit mixture (if mixture was frozen, make sure it has been fully thawed by letting it sit in the fridge overnight).

10. Roll out top crust, using same method to flip crust onto pie using the waxed paper.

11. Poke top crust with a fork several times to vent during baking; baste with milk and sprinkle sugar over the top.

12. Bake pie at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then turn down the heat to 350 and bake for 45 minutes or until ready.

 

If you are freezing for later use, store in an air-tight baggie

 

And set in a loaf pan to get a nice rectangle shape that will fit in your freezer

Pie crust time! The same no-butter crust I've posted previously

 

Serve warm with lots of vanilla ice cream