What Scottsdale resident Susan Jaramillo remembers most about her Grandma Denise Nerone was her magnificent homemade bread. In fact, Susan vividly remembers her grandma’s words:
“You’re the only little girl I know who begs for bread for dessert!”
Susan said the only time she would choose dessert over bread was when her French born grandmother made Apricot Pie. Once Susan shared her mouthwatering memories about the sweet-but-tart apricots arranged in a flakey homemade crust with a juicy apricot sauce poured on top and covered in lattice strips, I had no choice but to go into bake mode. What a fabulous, unique fruit pie! It’s delicious warm or cold, and of course, the better quality of dried apricots you use, the better the filling will turn out so look for plump, moist apricots. The original recipe called for whole apricots, but Susan and I agreed that cutting them in half is a bit easier to eat. You can cover your pie with an entire crust instead of cutting lattice strips if your choose. Either way, it’s Vive le Apricot Pie!
| Servings |
- 3 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 sticks butter, cut into small cubes and refrigerated (12 tablespoons)
- 1/3 cup vegetable shortening
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 4 tablespoons very cold water
- 4 cups dried apricots, cut in half
- 5 cups water
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2-3 tablespoons butter, cubed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon egg plus 1of milk (egg wash), well beaten
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon egg plus 1of milk well beaten egg wash
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Ingredients For Pie Crusts (Or purchase 2 ready-made unbaked deep dish pie shells):
For Apricot Pie Filling:
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- Place the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening and pulse until the butter is pea size. Keep machine running and add vinegar and cold water. Mix only until ball forms. Place in bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use (at least 30 minutes). Make filling.
- In a medium saucepan, bring apricots and water to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and cook for 10-15 minutes until apricots are softened. Add sugar, stir and cook for 5 minutes. Pour apricots into a sieve or colander set over a bowl. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of juice. Return juice to pot. Whisk in cornstarch and salt. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens, stirring often. Set aside. Divide dough into two balls. On a floured surface, roll each ball into a 9" circle. Place one dough circle in a 9" pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-15 minutes until lightly golden brown. Slice the second dough circle into thin strips. Arrange apricots in baked pie shell. Pour thickened juice over apricots. Dot with butter. Arrange strips lattice- style over top of apricots. Brush top with egg wash. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 -30 minutes or until deep golden brown on top.
