Apricot Pie

Wow. What a crazy day!

I told Tim I would bake a cake for a dinner we were going to but I didn't. So last night after I went to bed I got up, went downstairs and made a bunch of pie crust so I could bake some pies today. I was going to bake my fabulous Strawberry Tart but when I went to fridge today most of the berries had gone over. But as luck would have it, I had some apricots I had purchased at Sprouts a few days before so I decided to bake an apricot pie.

I love apricot pie and I can remember the first time I tried a slice. We had 2 trees up at the ranch I had stopped eating the apricots because they were too sweet. But we had a bunch of them so Dad and I had picked several sacks fulls and brought them home to Mom. I bet you can guess what she made with all those apricots. That's right: Apricot Pie.

The pie was delicious. Sweet. Tart. Buttery and flaky. And pretty, like it was made up of little orange suns. I don't think my Mom ever made another apricot pie, or if she did, I don't remember tasting it. But I will always recall that revelation, that first slice.

So I pulled out one of the sacks of pie dough and emptied it on my lightly flour dusted board. And it just crumbled. It was like it was too cold, hard and not very giving. So I mushed it all into a tart pan and arranged my quarters of apricots skin side down. Next I squeezed half a lemon over the fruit which turned out to be a little bit too much. The I sprinkled it with sugar, dotted the fruit with butter and baked it in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes at which point I pulled it out. Then I determined it needed to bake a little bit longer but my oven had cooled down. So I baked it at 350 for another 10-15 minutes. Turns out the pie was a big hit and Tim only came home with 2 slices which we will take care of tomorrow.

Here is my Mom's recipe for Apricot Pie

Enough apricots to fill a pie that have been rinsed and the stones removed. Cut into halves . Do not remove the skin or they will turn to baby food.

3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons tapioca
butter

1. Gently roll out your pie down and line your favorite pie pan with a crust.

2. In a bowl, gently toss your apricots and lemon juice. Add the sugar.

3. Pour a little less than half of the apricots into the pie and sprinkle with tapioca.

4. Add the rest of the fruit, dot with butter and add your top crust. If desired, brush with an egg wash. Make a few slits in the top crust to release steam.

5. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minute or until done. Allow to cool some before serving. Can be served warm or cold.