Apricot Pie

Homemade Apricot Pie has a perfectly sweet and tart jammy apricot filling inside a buttery, flaky crust. It's one of the best pie flavors of summer when apricots are in season!

Fruit pies are always some of our favorite desserts, no matter the time of year. Some of our other favorites are Homemade Razzleberry Pie, Rhubarb Pie, and my Award-Winning Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie.

Last year our girls' former preschool was doing a fundraiser selling frozen pies. It's been a while since they went to that school, but we loved it so much and still keep in touch with some of their teachers, so we try to support when we can, and I'm always game to try new pie flavors. I bought a couple of pies, but the one that caught my attention most was the apricot pie.

Apricots are one of our family's favorite fruits. Every summer when they show up at the farmer's market, we grow crazy and buy pounds and pounds of the fresh, tender orbs. They don't last long on the counter, mostly because Paul and the kids grab one every time they walk through the kitchen, so I had to set aside a few pounds for the express purpose of baking a pie!

I love and adore this apricot pie recipe. It's simple and homey and old-fashioned. Apricot pie is similar to peach, but definitely has it's own unique flavor profile that I know you're gonna love.

Recipe Ingredients

• Pie crust: I've got an amazing, practically foolproof pie crust recipe that I swear by. It's the only one I use and I even have a YouTube video showing you how I make it. But of course you can use a store-bought refrigerated or frozen pie crust instead, if you prefer.
• Apricots: You will want apricots that are ripe and soft but not mushy. Also, be sure to spot-taste one or two of your apricots as you slice them to get an idea for how sweet they are. Sometimes we get apricots that are a little on the sour side and need a smidge more sugar. Occasionally they are super, duper sweet and we cut back on the sugar just a tad.
• Sugar: Regular granulated sugar gets the job done sweetening the filling.
• Cornstarch: This is our thickening agent for the pie filling. Other popular choices for pies are flour or tapioca, but cornstarch is something I always have on hand and it works great.
• Lemon juice: A little bit of lemon juice keeps the flavors and colors bright.
• Vanilla extract and ground cinnamon: These two ingredients take on a supporting role and you don't really notice them, but they provide complexity and depth to the pie.

How to Make Apricot Pie

1. Make the pie crust: Start out by cutting the butter and shortening into flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl using a pastry cutter until the pieces of butter are about the size of pies. Stir in ice cold water just until the crust is moistened, then squeeze it into two discs, wrap them up in plastic wrap, and stick them in the fridge for 1 hour. When you are ready to assemble your pie, roll out the bottom crust on a floured surface and use it to line the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate (affiliate link).
2. Make the filling: The filling for this pie is super quick and easy! First, wash your apricots and slice them in half. Discard the stone from the center of the fruit and transfer the apricots to a large bowl. If the apricots are on the larger size, go ahead and quarter them as well. Add the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, and cinnamon, then toss everything together to combine. Dump the filling into your bottom crust and spread into an even layer.

3. Roll out the top crust: You can either do a solid crust on top and just cut a few slits in the top to vent, or go all out and make a lattice crust. Either way, be sure to brush the top of your pie crust with an egg wash so that it turns nice and golden brown in the oven. I also love a little granulated or coarse sugar sprinkled on top for extra crunch, sparkle, and sweetness.
4. Bake: Place the pie on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil to catch any juices that might bubble over and bake for 50-60 minutes at 375 degrees F until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. I like to start my pie with a pie shield or a piece of aluminum foil wrapped around the edges to protect it from baking too quickly. Then I remove the shield when there are about 20 minutes left to go.

5. Cool then serve! The hardest part about baking a fruit pie is always that you have to wait at least 4 hours after it's done baking for it to cool and set up enough to slice and eat it. If you cut right into it while it's still hot, the filling won't have set up all the way yet and you will have a runny pie. You can always reheat the pie in the oven for 10 minutes or stick a slice in the microwave if you like your pie warm.

Recipe FAQ's

Recipe Tips

• Freezing: One thing I have started doing recently is making two pies at the same time and freezing one of them unbaked for a future date. Then, on the day I want to serve the frozen pie, I just pop it in the oven straight from the freezer and bake for 1 ½ to 2 hours until it's done. It works amazingly well and I've done this with peach, apricot, and strawberry rhubarb pie so far!
• Other fruit: If you find yourself shy on the amount of apricots, you can sub in some other fruit to make up the difference. Peaches and apricots work really well, but you could also try apricot strawberry, apricot blueberry, or apricot raspberry pie. Maybe even apricot rhubarb? They say "what grows together, goes together" so if something shows up at the same season at the Farmer's Market, there's a good chance you can pair them up.
• Serve a la mode: This pie is begging to be served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream right beside it! Or go AWOL and serve it with some toasted almond ice cream or your other favorite flavor of ice cream instead! Yum!
• Decorating your pie: You can get creative and finish the pie with a braided lattice crust or other decoration if you prefer. I definitely recommend sprinkling the crust with either granulated or coarse sugar after brushing with the egg wash though. Not only does it make the pie pretty but it adds extra sweetness and crunch that we love.

More Pie Recipes

• The Best Banoffee Pie
• Raspberry Peach Pie
• Best Key Lime Pie Recipe
• Lemon Meringue Pie
• Easy Blueberry Custard Pie
• Best Homemade Cherry Pie Recipe
• Homemade Blueberry Pie

Print Pin Rate

Apricot Pie

5 from 5 votes

Amy Nash

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Additional Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 5 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 10 -12 servings

Homemade Apricot Pie has a perfectly sweet and tart jammy apricot filling inside a buttery, flaky crust. It's one of the best pie flavors of summer when apricots are in season!

Ingredients

  

123

Pie Crust

• ▢ 2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus extra for the work surface
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ cup vegetable shortening chilled
• ▢ 12 Tablespoons salted butter cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled
• ▢ 6-8 Tablespoons ice water

Filling

• ▢ 2 ½ to 3 pounds of apricots washed, pitted, and sliced into halves or quarters
• ▢ ¾ cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cinnamon optional

Decorating

• ▢ 1 egg beaten
• ▢ Coarse sugar for sprinkling

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

Pie Crust

• Stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or a food processor (affiliate link), cut the shortening and butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture. Using a fork, gently stir the water in to the flour mixture, then repeat with the remaining water, adding 2 additional tablespoons at a time until the dough starts to come together. Squeeze the dough together with your hands to form a large ball or clump. If it still isn't holding together, add a little more water.
• Divide the dough into two even pieces. Turn each piece of dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten each into a disc and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour, then allow the chilled dough to sit on the counter for 10 minutes before rolling out.

Filling

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out the bottom crust on a floured surface then transfer to a 9-inch regular pie plate (affiliate link).
• Combine washed, pitted, and sliced apricots in a large bowl with the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Toss to evenly distribute the ingredients, then transfer to the prepared pie crust.
• Roll out the top crust on a floured surface. If making a lattice crust, slice the dough into approximately 1-inch strips and lay half of them going one direction across the pie. Fold every other strip back halfway across the pie and lay another strip going the other direction perpendicular to the first rows of pie dough. Fold the strips back into place, then fold the alternate strips back over the strip you just laid down. Add another strip and continue folding back and replacing alternate strips of dough until you have a woven lattice crust. Or just go with a solid pie crust and cut a few slits in the top for venting.
• Trim and fold the edges of the crust under, crimping the edges in a decorative fashion. Brush the crust with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse or granulated sugar.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling underneath. You may want to place a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil under the pie for easy cleanup in case any of the juices bubble over. Also, be sure to check your pie partway through baking and cover the edges with a pie shield if they are getting too dark too quickly.
• Cool for 4 hours to set up before slicing and serving.

Notes

• Apricots: These vary in size but you will need about 6 cups of fruit once it has been sliced.
• Sugar: If your apricots are on the tart side, you might want to add another ¼ to ½ cups of sugar. If your apricots are really naturally sweet already, you might want to decrease the sugar to ½ cup.
• Thickening: If you don't have cornstarch on hand or prefer not to use it, you could also thicken this pie with ¼ cup all-purpose flour tossed with the apricots instead.
• Freezing: You can assemble and freeze the unbaked pie for up to 2 months. To bake, place the pie straight from the freezer into the preheated oven and bake for 1 ½ to 2 hours until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.

Nutrition

Calories: 464kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 362mg | Potassium: 340mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 2629IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 2mg

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