Friday is PIE DAY!

A single pie crust in the fridge and some slightly too tart to eat out of your hand apricots were the inspiration for this pie. I love it when I have an extra pie crust. It's like finding gold in my refrigerator. Usually, it either tempts me to make a custard pie, or to make a pie like this. I call it a "rustic" pie, because that sounds really lovely. Actually, it is just a lazy way to make a pie. It still requires rolling (although you could probably just press the dough into a circle too), but needs just a cookie sheet and involves no folding and crimping of crust edges. Do I have your attention yet?

Rustic Apricot Pie

single pie crust-any size

enough fruit/nuts etc. to fill the center

a cup or two of sugar

2-3 T flour

1-2 T butter

nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves etc. to taste

How's that for a vague recipe?

-roll out your pie crust and slip it onto a cookie sheet

-load up the center with desired filling.

I had these apricots on hand, but often use this as sort of a "dump" pie, using whatever mixture of odds and ends I have in the kitchen. Maybe you have a few fresh strawberries and half a bag of frozen raspberries. Great-throw that in! Maybe you have a cup of fresh or frozen blueberries, some apricot jam and a handful of pecans. Yup, sure, try it out. This is a chance to have fun and play with combinations.

-now, pour a cup or two of sugar on top of the filling (depending on sweetness of your ingredients)

I used 1 1/2 cups with these tart apricots.

-sprinkle about 2-3 T flour on top

-dot with 1-2 T of butter

-flavor with desired spices

I used a pretty big dusting of cinnamon on these apricots. Again, play with combinations.

-Fold the crust edges up and over the filling.

*You can also brush the folded eges with a bit of beaten egg white and sprinkle with sugar. This will make the edges nice and brown-pretty and tasty!

-bake at 400 for 35-40 minutes, until crust is brown and filling is bubbly