Charlotte Lou Allen Pipes was a great pie baker. Mom’s Apricot-Pineapple Pie has been a family tradition for more than 60 years. Baked to mouth watering perfection, we could expect one of these delicious Apricot-Pineapple pies every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years day, as well as other special days throughout the year. In fact, Mom sometimes made several of them along with other baked goods, such as her delicious pumpkin and apple pies. Cake? Well of course. Mom made wonderful cakes and brownies too. We had lots of fresh baked goods in our house. And Dad (Lloyd) always brought a big container of French Vanilla or Peppermint ice cream from the freezer and put generous dollops of ice cream on the warm baked goods.
Ingredients:
- 2 pie crusts
- 2 packages of *California dried Apricots
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 small (8 oz) can of crushed Dole pineapple, undrained
- Dab of butter (1 Tablespoon)
Intructions:
1. Cook apricots until tender in just enough water to cover (about 12-15 minutes). I like it better when the apricots are still a bit chunky and not sauced.
2. Mix together sugar and cornstarch. Add to apricots and cook until clear and thickened.
3. Remove from heat and add pineapple and a dab of butter. Pour into pie crust.
4. Cover with the second crust. Bake at 350 for about an hour or until crust is gold and bubbly.
Mom did one more thing that I haven't mastered and this little touch brings the taste even more alive. She somehow put very tiny bits of pastry dough ball crumbs with salt on the top crust. It was good.
* I wouldn’t substitute with Turkish or Mediterranean dried apricots. There is a big difference. California dried apricots are superior in taste. My experience is that gourmet markets only sell dried apricots from the Middle East. They are much larger and much prettier. California dried apricots are smaller and darker--but they are sweeter! I sometimes have to work at it, but I often find the California dried apricots (Sunsweet) at chain super markets. There you will often find 2 rows of Middle East apricots and one little row of California apricots. And for some reason, the packages are often not marked California. You must look at the fine print. When I find them, I stock up.
“Probably anywhere between 30% and 40% of our business is done internationally, be it retail or bulk packs,” said Jeff McLemore, product manager for North America at Yuba City, Calif.-based Sunsweet Growers Inc. “Consumption levels are strong, if not stronger, in places like Japan. The eastern European countries are also strong.”
History:
Mom invented this pie in the 1940s. On the day before Thanksgiving, Dad was flat on his back in bed as a result of a bad fall. He couldn't work for weeks. When he didn't work he didn't get paid. Mom was about out of money. She had already bought a turkey, potatoes, and vegetables. But she was worried about how to make dad a nice pie for Thanksgiving. She went to the pantry to see if there was anything to put together a pie. She found two packages of dried apricots and a small tin of Dole crushed pineapple. This was enough! She immediately recognized these would be the ingredients she'd use to make Dad a pie. She thought about how she would do it and came up with this recipe.
This pie, along with pumpkin and pecan pies, have become a family tradition. Mom and members of our extended family have baked this pie for every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years day for over 60 years. My daughter helped me bake the pie pictured. The tradition continues.
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