Cherry-Apricot Pie

 

 "Owl" bet you'd like some pie, wouldn't you?





I hate this time of year-nothing is, "in season", and what fruit the supermarkets have are dull, and tasteless. Enter the "winter" pie. Using tinned apricots and Maraschino cherries, you can put together a halfway decent dessert while you wait for the first decent strawberries and stone fruits. I'm not exaggerating when I say they, "demolished" this pie. Usually, a pie will last four or five days-this one was gone in two-and I never got a slice! You can skip the maraschino cherries, which I added mostly for colour, but people who skip the maraschino cherries aren't the type of people who read this blog.

For the Crust:

2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter
4-7 tablespoons ice water

Combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until fine. Add water a tablespoon at a time until you can gather the dough lightly into a ball. Divide, and roll out enough for a bottom and lattice top.

For the Filling:

2 one pound tins of apricots in syrup, drained reserving 1/3 cup syrup. Slice the apricots, and set aside.
About 12 maraschino cherries, halved
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons plain flour
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Combine sugar, flour, nutmeg, gineger, and salt. Add reserved syrup. Cook over medium heat, stirring until mixture thickens. Add butter and lemon juice. Remove from heat, then stir in apricots and cherries. Pour into pie crust, top with lattice crust. Brush top with heavy cream or milk, and scatter with coarse or pearl sugar, if you like. Bake (on a baking sheet-just in case) at 400 degree F. for 40-45 minutes.