Now that you have all used up your cherries with our cherry pie filling ideas, it's time to move on to apricots. My family and I recently returned from a trip to my parents' place in Oregon. They have 7 apricot trees on their property and lucky for us, many of the apricots were ripe for the pickin' while we were there. We came home with a box of apricots and the first thing I did was make my favorite apricot pie. I found this recipe a couple years ago from Better Homes and Gardens when I was trying to find new apricot recipes for my mom. It was an instant hit and now we make it all the time whenever it's apricot season. Well, in most places the apricots are ripe and ready, so head to your store or find a place to pick your own and make this pie!



Apricot-Almond Pie
1 pastry crust (the recipe I use is below)
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
4 cups sliced, pitted apricots (about 1 3/4 lbs)
1/2 tsp. almond extract plus 2 T. water
1/4 cup slivered almonds, optional
Crumb Topping:
Stir together 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup brown sugar. Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in 3 T. butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

1. Prepare and roll out pastry and line a 9 inch pie plate with it. Prepare crumb topping and set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine sugar and flour. Add apricots and almond/water. Gently toss until coated.
3. Transfer apricot mixture to pastry-lined pie plate. Sprinkle crumb topping over the filling. Sprinkle with almonds (I usually don't add these since my husband is not a fan of nuts, but I have had it with them before and it is YUMMY.)
4. Lightly tent the pie with foil and bake at 375 for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until top is golden and bubbly. Cool on a wire rack and ENJOY!

Pastry Recipe (from Betty Crocker):
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup plus 1 T. shortening
2-3 T. cold water

Mix together flour and salt. Cut in shortening with a pastry blender or fork. Sprinkle with cold water, adding more (1-2 tsp. if necessary) until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl. Gather into a ball and roll out on floured surface. If you have time you can refrigerate the pastry in plastic wrap for 30 minutes to make it easier to roll. Transfer to pie plate and cut off any excess. Sometimes I will 1 1/2 the recipe if I want a thicker crust.