Ruth Reichl Apricot Pie Recipes

OLD TIMEY APRICOT FRIED PIE

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Place flour, sugar, salt, vinegar, and egg yolk in the bowl of a food processor and pulse lightly 1 time. While pulsing, add butter gradually; dough should be the consistency of cornmeal. Do not over-mix or dough will become tough and hard to roll out. While pulsing, add ice water slowly until dough forms a ball (again being careful to not over-mix). Turn off processor as soon as dough forms a ball and refrigerate dough for about 30 minutes.
• Make filling:
• Combine apricots, jam, nectar, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 10 to 15 minutes. Add cornstarch slurry and continue simmering for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add almond and vanilla extracts. Let cool to room temperature; mixture should thicken to the consistency of a jam.
• Meanwhile, pour several inches of oil into a large, deep, heavy-bottomed pan or Dutch oven; oil should not come more than halfway up the sides of the pan. Heat oil to 360 degrees F.
• On a floured board, roll out dough to 1/8-inch or less thickness. Cut or stamp dough into 15 (6-inch) round circles, or as many that size as possible. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of filling into the center of each circle of dough and brush edges with egg wash. Fold in half and press edges together with a fork dipped in flour. Poke the top of the crust twice with fork.
• Carefully add pie pockets, in batches, to the hot oil and deep fry until golden brown, turning as needed. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and serve; be careful as filling is hot.

RUSTIC APRICOT PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Place apricots in a large bowl. Squeeze lemon halves over apricots. Gently mix 1 cup white sugar, brown sugar, flour, and 2 tablespoons cinnamon into apricots to coat.
• Line a 9-inch pie dish with 1 pie pastry. Spread apricot filling into shell. Roll remaining pastry onto a work surface; cut into about 1/2-inch-wide strips for a lattice crust. Cover apricot filling with pie dough strips creating a lattice pattern; seal top crust pieces to bottom crust edges and crimp into a fluted pattern. Brush egg white over top crust and sprinkle with a pinch of white sugar and cinnamon. Cover fluted crust edges loosely with aluminum foil.
• Bake in the preheated oven until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove pie from oven and cool.

FRESH APRICOT PIE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. In a large bowl, sprinkle apricots with lemon juice. Combine sugar, flour and nutmeg. Add to apricots, toss gently to coat., Line a 9-in. pie plate with bottom pastry; trim to 1 in. beyond edge of pie plate. Add filling. Roll out remaining pastry to make a lattice crust. Trim, seal and flute edges. Brush with milk and sprinkle with additional sugar. , Cover edges of pastry loosely with foil. Bake 45-55 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack.