Apricot Pie
This Apricot Pie is one of the best ways to enjoy fresh apricots in the summer! It has a sweet apricot filling and a homemade all-butter pie crust. Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
If you love apricots as much as I do I think you’ll also enjoy my Fresh Apricot Crisp!
My parents have an apricot tree in their yard, and as long as I can remember I’ve loved baking apricot pies with the fresh apricots that ripen every June and July. This year, they had a great crop, after a couple of disappointing years. I took advantage and made my favorite apricot pie, and this time I took careful notes so that I could share my recipe with you.
I know that making a pie can seem intimidating, but I hope that won’t stop you from making this apricot pie. I’m not sure why pies get such a reputation for being difficult, because they actually are quite easy! A bit time consuming, yes, but truly not difficult. Even my homemade pie crust is a breeze to mix up and rolls out so easily. I love making this pie especially because the fresh apricots are so quick and easy to prep – just halve them, pull out the pit and slice them into quarters or sixths, depending on their size.
This fresh apricot pie is a real treat, especially topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I hope you will give it a try!
How to Ripen and Store Apricots
Apricots are a summer fruit, with a relatively short season typically running from May through July. Like peaches and nectarines, apricots are stone fruits with a seed in the center. They are generally smaller and less juicy than peaches.
A ripe apricot will smell sweet and be slightly soft when you gently squeeze it. If your apricots aren’t quite ripe yet, lay them out in a single layer on a baking sheet at room temperature. The apricots should ripen in a day or two.
Once they are ripe, store apricots in the refrigerator for a few days to prevent them from spoiling. Lay the apricots in a single layer and refrigerate, unwrapped.
Apricot Pie Filling
This apricot pie filling is sweet and juicy and thickens up nicely as the pie cools after baking. A few notes about the ingredients:
- Apricots: This pie will turn out best if you make it with fresh apricots that are sweet and delicious eaten as is. If your apricots aren’t ripe or are very tart, they won’t make a very good pie.
- Sugar: I’ve left a note in the recipe below about adjusting the amount of sugar as needed. When I made this pie with ripe, sweet apricots I used 2/3 cup of granulated sugar in the filling and it was perfect. If your apricots are not very sweet or you like a very sweet pie filling, you’ll want to increase the amount of sugar.
- All-Purpose Flour: To thicken the pie filling. In the past, I’ve used quick-cooking tapioca (3 tablespoons) to thicken apricot pie but after testing both I prefer this pie thickened with flour.
- Lemon Juice: Brightens up the flavors.
- Ground Cinnamon and Ginger: These warm spices perfectly complement the apricots and enhance the flavor of the pie filling.
- Salt: It may sound counterintuitive, but adding a little salt to the filling actually brings out the sweetness of the pie.
Foolproof Pie Crust
I use my favorite homemade pie crust recipe in this apricot pie. It’s an all-butter pie crust that bakes up tender and flaky. You don’t have to chill the pie crust before rolling it out, which I find so convenient. I like to make the pie dough in a food processor, but if you don’t have one, you can make the dough by hand, using a pastry cutter or two forks to work in the butter.
Success Tip: When making pie crust, use cold butter and ice-cold water. When you’re not working with the dough, keep it in the refrigerator so that it stays cold. The cold bits of butter in the dough will create pockets of steam when you bake the pie – this is what gives you flaky layers in your pie crust.
How to Make Apricot Pie
Here is an overview of the recipe steps. Find the full printable recipe in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Make the Apricot Filling
In a large mixing bowl, combine the apricots, sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Stir gently. Set aside while you make the pie crust.
Step 2: Make the Pie Dough
Pulse together flour, sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Add the butter and pulse 8-10 times, until the largest butter pieces are the size of small peas. Add the ice-cold water and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Shape the dough into a ball and cut it in half; shape each half into a disk. Place one disk in the refrigerator.
Step 3: Roll Out Bottom Crust
On a lightly floured work surface, roll the second disk out to a 12-inch round and transfer it to a deep-dish pie pan.
Step 4: Assemble the Pie
By this time, the apricots should have released some of their juices. Gently stir the apricot mixture to make sure everything is well combined and then transfer the apricots and all release juices into the pie crust.
Roll out the second pie dough disk to a 12-inch round. You can place the dough round on top of the pie as is, or you can make a lattice-top pie crust. If putting the full dough round on top of the pie, cut a few slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape as the pie bakes.
Step 5: Brush with Egg Wash and Bake
In a small bowl, beat together an egg and one tablespoon milk. Brush this egg wash over the top of the pie. Sprinkle on some coarse turbinado sugar for sparkle and crunch. Chill the pie in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before baking.
Bake the pie at 425° for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350° F. Continue baking the pie for 40-50 minutes more, until the filling is bubbly. Check on the pie partway through the baking time and cover the crust with a pie shield or foil as needed to prevent the crust from over-browning.
Let the pie cool at room temperature for at least 3 hours before serving to allow the filling to set up and thicken.
Make Ahead and Storage Tips
- Storage: The baked pie can be left at room temperature for up to 12 hours. Store leftover apricot pie in the refrigerator, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap, for up to 4 days.
- To Freeze: The baked pie can be frozen for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely and then wrap it tightly before freezing. Thaw for 24 hours in the refrigerator before serving.
- The pie crust dough can be made ahead of time, wrapped airtight, and stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let frozen pie dough thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling it out.
More Fruit Pie Recipes
Fresh fruit pies are one of my very favorite things to bake! Here are a few more of my favorite recipes.
Apricot Pie
Ingredients
For the Apricot Filling
- 6 cups pitted and sliced fresh apricots, from 2 pounds whole apricots
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar, adjust to taste, see note
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For the Pie Crust
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes, 16 tablespoons
- 7 tablespoons ice-cold water
Egg Wash + Sugar Sprinkle
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon milk
- coarse turbinado sugar, optional
Instructions
Make the Apricot Filling
- Place the sliced apricots in a large bowl. Add the sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Stir gently to combine. Set aside while you make the pie crust.
Make the Pie Crust
- Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. (Alternatively, the pie crust dough can be made by hand in a large bowl using a pastry cutter or two forks to cut in the butter.)
- Pulse to combine the dry ingredients. Add the cold butter cubes and pulse 8-10 times, until the largest butter pieces are the size of small peas.
- Add the ice-cold water and pulse just until the dough starts to come together.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and form it into a ball. Cut the ball in half and shape each half into a round disk. Wrap one of the disks in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator.
- On a lightly floured work surface, roll the second disk out to a 12-inch round and transfer it to a deep-dish pie pan. (This is easily done by wrapping the dough round around your rolling pin to help move it.) Do not firmly press the dough into the pie pan, just gently fit it in.
Assemble the Pie
- By this time, the apricots should have released some of their juices. Gently stir the apricot mixture to make sure everything is well combined and then transfer the apricots and all release juices into the pie crust.
- Roll out the second pie dough disk to a 12-inch round. You can place the dough round on top of the pie as is, or you can make a lattice-top pie crust. If putting the full dough round on top of the pie, cut a few slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape as the pie bakes.
- To make a lattice top pie crust: Cut the second dough round into strips. I like to do a mixture of thinner ½-inch strips and thicker 1-inch strips. Place the longest strip down the center of the pie. Reserving every other dough strip to go in the other direction on the pie, lay strips across the pie with just a little bit of space between. Then weave in strips going the opposite direction on the pie.
- Trim the edges of the pie crust so that there is a ½-inch overhang over the edge of the pie dish. Fold the overhang under itself and flute/crimp the edges of the crust as desired.
Brush with Egg Wash + Bake
- In a small bowl, beat together the egg and the 1 tablespoon milk. Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash. (You will not use all of the egg wash.) If desired, sprinkle coarse sugar over the top of the pie.
- Refrigerate pie for 30 minutes before baking.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425° F with a rack in the lower third of the oven.
- Bake the pie at 425° for 15 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350° F. Continue baking the pie for 40-50 minutes more, until the filling is bubbly. Check on the pie partway through the baking time and cover the crust with a pie shield or foil as needed to prevent the crust from over-browning.
- Let the pie cool at room temperature for at least 3 hours before serving to allow the filling to set up and thicken.
- Store pie at room temperature for up to one day, or in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 4 days. Once, cool, the pie can also be frozen, wrapped tightly, for up to 3 months.
Notes
- Sugar: Adjust the amount of sugar depending on how sweet or tart your apricots are and how sweet you like your pie. I find 2/3 cup of sugar to be perfect for moderately sweet apricots. Tart apricots may require 1 cup or more of sugar.
