Friday, June 21, 2013

Apricot Cherry Pie

Well that was quite the unintentional blog hiatus! Life just kind of took over for a while, but I'm back now with a delicious summer pie recipe for you. 

I made this Apricot Cherry Pie last weekend as a special birthday treat for my Great Aunt. I won't say how old she is but it was a special milestone birthday! This pie takes two of my absolute favorite fruits and combines them into a luscious, sweet, slightly tart dessert. In fact, it was so good that I'm adding it to the list for my wedding potluck dessert spread. Yep, that's right...we struck out TWICE on potential bakers/bakeries, so we said screw it, we'll do it ourselves! Kind of crazy but kind of awesome (hopefully). I'll be making a few pies myself, and this will definitely be one of them.


Apricot Cherry Pie (recipe from Butter Love Bakeshop, but the crust is my go-to from Smitten Kitchen)

For the crust:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, diced, very cold
1 cup ice water

For the filling:
2 1/2 pounds apricots
1/2 cup cherries
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (I didn't have any so didn't add this, I'm sure it would be delicious though!)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

To make the crust, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or your hands. I've said it before here (my first blog post, aw!) and here but the key to flaky pie crust is to keep the butter very cold and as you cut it in to the dry ingredients, make sure not to over-mix - you want pea-size clumps of butter in your dough. 

Slowly drizzle about 1/2 cup of the ice water over the dough, and use your hands to gently combine the mixture. If it feels too dry, add a little more water, just a little bit at a time. You want the dough to just come together, but not to feel wet and sticky. 

Split the dough in half and shape each half into a disc, about 1/2 inch thick. Wrap each disc tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours before rolling them out. The dough freezes well too, for up to a month!


For the filling, pit and quarter the apricots and place in a large bowl. Pit the cherries using a cherry pitter, or if you're like me and don't have one, use a knife to split them in half and remove the pit. I wish I had taken a photo of the cherry-pitting aftermath, it looked like someone had been seriously injured in my kitchen - there was red juice everywhere!

Mix the fruit with the sugar, cornstarch, almond extract, and nutmeg.


Roll out your crust and pour in the fruit mixture, then seal it up with the top crust. Make sure to cut a few vents in the top crust to let steam escape during baking. You can brush the top with egg wash or sprinkle it with sugar if you want...I didn't and it was still amazing!

Bake the pie at 400 degrees on a middle to lower oven rack for about 1 hour, until the filling is bubbling. I'd recommend putting a baking sheet under the pie to catch any drips. Also, if you notice the crust is golden on top but the filling isn't bubbling yet, just put a sheet of foil over the pie to prevent the crust from burning.




Ta da! My dad took this photo of the pie served with strawberry sorbet...so yummy!


I know you all missed Poppy...doesn't this picture make you want to take a nap?! Yeah, me too.

1 comment:

  1. Food photography, that's you're calling. Those apricots just leaped out. Cherries also yummy looking, glistening with goodness. Great job, B.

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