Apricot-Almond Crunch Pie

Prepare to have your world ROCKED!!! I'm not kidding, this was amazing! Maybe my new favorite pie. Actually, not maybe, definitely my new favorite pie. MMM! I think I need another one, STAT!

So here is how this pie came to be. A neighbor of mine had a bajillion apricots and i bought a bunch off of her for an amazing deal, thank you Heather! But, in 5 minutes I went from oh let's get some apricots to a 5 pound box sitting on my counter, all ripe and ready to be devoured. 

Que: Pinterest. I searched for every apricot recipe I could find so that I could use them up before they got soft and squishy and gross. To be honest, there were loads of ideas on pinterest but they all sounded OK, nothing life changing. And we needed life changing. Strike One.

Que: The never fail cook book. Better Homes and Gardens, Thank You. Who has that red and white checked cook book?  Do you LOVE IT!!??!!??!!?? I use it for everything and I love it for everything! So, the filling comes from that cookbook and the crust is my grandmas AMAZING pie crust, seriously the best crust ever. It's delicious and flaky and light and oh so fattening. Perfect combo right?

Let's do this...

 

 Slice up your apricots-- You choose, I left the skin on. Mostly a laziness factor.

 

Prepare your topping and set aside. 

 

  Prepare the filling and set aside.

 Prepare and roll out your dough. Lay in pie plate and crimp as desired. I did two (see picture above and below). Fill each pie with filling.

 I used the bowl of a spoon for this design. It's super easy.

 Cover pie with crumb topping. It will seem like there is WAY too much topping, trust me, use it all! Finally top with almonds.

Pre-cooked. Doesn't this look divine?

Bake and feast!

I liked it better cool, my husband thought it was best hot, with ice cream of course :)

*And just a note, something you may want to remember and plan on...I made 2 pies. One for our family and one for my neighbors who were moving. I sadly, (or happily?) admit that pie number 2 never made it to their house. 

Oh yeah, it's that good :)

{CRUST RECIPE} (Makes 2 crusts, you will only need one for this pie)

2 C flour

1 tsp. salt

3/4 C butter-flavored shortening

3 Tbsp. water, chilled (add a few more drops if needed)

Mix flour and salt together. Measure shortening and set in bowl with flour. Set in refrigerator to chill. When chilled, mix together thoroughly with pastry cutter. Stir in water with fork, 1 Tbsp at a time, working dough gently and briefly. Divide into 2 halves, shaping each into a slightly flattened disk, Refrigerate one while you are rolling out the other. Roll out on lightly floured surface and place in pie plates. This recipe makes one two-crust pie or two one-crust pies. If for one-crust pies, prick with fork and bake at 450 degrees 10-12 minutes. 

*note: for ease of rolling out, use a cloth rolling pin cover and roll out on a pastry cloth. Always roll from the center outwards. 

{CRUMB TOPPING RECIPE}

Stir together 1/2 C all-purpose flour and 1/2 C packed brown sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in 3 Tbsp butter till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

{PIE RECIPE}

1 recipe Crumb Topping (above)  

3/4 C Sugar

1/3 C all-purpose flour

4 C sliced, pitted apricots ( I left the skin on, if you would prefer to peel them that works too)

2 Tbsp amaretto or 1/2 tsp. almond extract plus 2 Tbsp water

1/4 C slivered almonds

In a large mixing bowl combine sugar and flour. Add apricots and amaretto or almond extract/water. 

Transferr apricot mixture to pastry-lined pie plate. sprinkle Crumb Topping over the filling. Sprinkle with almonds. 

To prevent over-browning, cover edge of the pie with foil. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until top is golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Chicken and Bacon Pot Pie

This recipe is a modified version of a recipe featured on NPR
I have a hard time with pot-pies of any kind because I know how un-healthy they are and just thinking about them adds a pant size to my lower half, however, sometimes a good pot pie just really hits the spot and this one did not let down! If you are going to indulge, and once in a while, you really just need to indulge, this is one recipe that is worth every bite. Mmm, I can still taste the flakiness of the crust and the flavors of chicken and bacon. Dang this one was yummy!!! Enjoy!

{Ingredients}

• 3 slices bacon cut into 1 inch strips

• 1 tsp. olive oil

• 1 tbsp. minced garlic

• 2 cups sliced mushrooms

• 1 large chicken breast cut into 1 inch strips

• 2-1/2 tbsp. flour

• 1/4 tsp. dried sage

• 1 tbsp. butter

• 1-1/4 cups hot chicken broth

• 1 tbsp Marsala

• 1 17.2 oz. package of frozen puff pastry (or make your favorite pie crust)
  

Thaw the puff pastry according to package directions, and roll it out large enough for a 9 inch pie plate.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large frying pan, fry the bacon and garlic in the oil until the bacon begins to crisp. Add the mushrooms, and cook until softened.

Turn the chicken strips in flour and sage. Add the butter to the bacon-garlic mixture. After the butter melts, add the chicken strips. Cook until the chicken begins to brown.

Pour in the chicken broth and the Marsala. Stir, and allow the mixture to simmer for about 5 minutes.

Line the pie plate with one of the sheets of pastry. Fill the pie plate with the chicken gravy mixture. Dampen the rim of the crust with a wet finger, and place the second pastry sheet on top. Cut it to fit, and seal it with a fork.

Bake the pie for about 20 minutes, or until golden-brown and puffy.

Valentines Day, heart shaped pies on a stick, and some fun gifts!

I had so much fun this year celebrating Valentines Day! Between decorating my house (with my few decorations) and making yummy treats it was a blast, and the week before was very busy
First off, I have to do a quick shout out to my cute mom. She gave me the cutest Valentines blocks and they fit perfectly on my shelf.

Aren't they adorable? I love them! It was also so much fun to pull out my tissue paper balls again. I made these with my cute girl friends back in October. They were hanging above our table for Christmas and it was so fun to be able to use them again!
So, onto the goodies...
I found this fun idea on Our Best Bites and just couldn't resist. They were so fun, I actually made them twice last month. Once on sticks and once smaller, you'll see.

These are individual pies with a delicious glaze that hardens to the touch and makes these babies look irresistible! People were so excited when I gave them out and it was such a fun little project. I did several flavors and types but my favorite was the apple.
*Some other ideas you can have fun with:
Nutella, any flavor jam with chocolate chips, pumpkin?, real fruit - get a few berries in there and seal it up- mmmm!
Here's the how-to...

Sweetie Pie Pops
Recipe by Our Best Bites

Yields 16-18 2" Pops, 6 4" hand pies

1 recipe pie crust (or store bought pie crust dough) - use your favorite

6" lollipop sticks (available at craft stores, including Walmart)

small bowl of water

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Course sugar or sprinkles for top

Canned pie filling, homemade apple below or any other filling you want

Cookie Cutters

Apple Pie Filling (combine all ingredients below):

1 medium tart green apple, peeled and grated

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon cold butter, grated

Glaze (Whisk all ingredients until smooth. Add milk until desired consistency is reached):

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1-3 tsp milk


Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat if desired.
Roll out pie dough on a floured surface about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out

heart shapes (or other shape of your choosing) and place them on your
baking sheet.

Place about 1-2 tsp of filling on one cut out, keeping it at least 1/4 inch away from the edges. Place 6 inch lollipop stick in center of shape, with the top of the stick near the top of the shape.

Wet your finger in a small bowl of water and wet the edge of the pie dough shape. Wet the edges of a 2nd pie dough shape (one without filling) and place on top of the other. Press together gently with your fingers to seal the pieces together. Use a fork to crimp edges, being careful to seal edges around the stick. Poke a fork into top of pie one time so steam can vent. If desired, brush top of pie in melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. (Or leave plain to glaze after)

Bake pies for 15-20 minutes until barely golden brown. Cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. If glazing, gently brush or spoon glaze over pies while still warm. Cool completely before packaging. If desired, place in cellophane bags and tie with ribbons and labels.