Every so often I love to look at Ruth Reichl’s Blog. She is an acclaimed author, food writer, and past restaurant critic for The New York Times, and was both the food editor and restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times. She was the editor of Gourmet Magazine for 10 years until its closing in 2009.
Her list of accomplishments in the food world seems endless. She was a part of the culinary revolution that took place in Berkeley, California in the 1970’s.
She infuses her writing with not only her culinary knowledge, but with the wisdom of her experiences and a delightful sense of humor.
This recipe for Apricot Pie was recently posted on her blog. On my last visit to one of our local farmer’s markets I purchased these beautiful apricots with this recipe in mind.
She refers to this as the World’s Easiest Pie, and she says…This is not only the fastest pie I know how to put together( it’s even faster if you use a frozen pie shell), it is also the most satisfying. Served with a little whipped cream, or some vanilla ice cream, it is summer on a plate. The recipe is from Comfort Me With Apples.
Apricot Pie
1 recipe pie dough (for a single crust pie)
2 pounds apricots
1 stick butter, melted
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup flour
fresh nutmeg
Roll out the pie dough, fit it into a 9 inch pie pan, crimp the edges and put it into the freezer for 15 minutes while you preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Break the apricots apart with your fingers; do not peel them, but remove the pits.
Melt the butter. Stir in the sugar (brown sugar is fine), then the flour. Grate in a bit of nutmeg.
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Put the apricots in the unbaked shell. Cover them with the sugar mixture and put the pie on the bottom rack of your oven. After 10 minutes turn the heat down to 375 degrees and bake for 35 or 40 minutes more, until the top is crusty and golden. Transfer to a cake rack and cool before serving.
Ruth was right…this is the World’s Easiest Pie! If you love apricots, you will love this pie.
I was amazed at how good the top crust was with its buttery, sugary crunchiness, which played well against the sweet yet tartness of the apricots.
Serve it with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Thanks, Ruth!