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Dutch? French? This pie is all American

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JUL 5, 2020

Apricot pie is a taste of summer. Bake the pie the night before and allow it to cool. When sliced, the pie holds together better. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Recipe: Crumb-topped pie works with apricots, nectarines or other stone fruit

The streusel top contrasts with the summer fruit underneath.

Is it Dutch? Is it French?

It's neither; it's just delicious.

Apple pie with crumbly streusel topping is known as Dutch apple pie or French apple pie, although the origins of those recipes are purely American. The Dutch version often includes chopped walnuts in the crumb topping; the French sticks to brown sugar, flour and butter.

That same streusel method works wonders with tart summer fruit such as apricots or nectarines. (Peaches and cherries, too!) The sweet crumbles contrast beautifully with the flavorful fruit filling.

I've been making this recipe (adapted from several sources) for years. The brown sugar crumbs are my favorite way to top almost any fruit pie.

Note: This recipe can be used with other stone fruits. Peel nectarines or peaches, but apricots and cherries can leave their skins on.

Gently stir the sliced fruit with lemon juice.

Apricot crumble pie
Makes 1 (9-inch) pie, 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 (single) pie crust for 9-inch pie

Filling:
5 cups apricots, pitted and sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Topping:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

Instructions:

Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Prepare pastry in 9-inch pie plate. Set aside.

Gently stir together sliced apricots and lemon juice. Combine sugar, 1/4 cup flour and cinnamon; mix with apricots.

Make crumb topping: In a medium bowl, mix 1 cup flour and brown sugar. With a pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until crumbly.

Turn apricot filling into pastry-lined pie plate. Top with crumbles, covering fruit to the edges of the pastry.

Place pie in center of oven, on top of a rimmed baking sheet to catch any spill over. Bake in 425-degree oven for 50 minutes or until bubbly around the edges. Cover topping with aluminum foil the last 10 minutes to prevent over browning.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream (optional).

The crumbly sweet topping seals in the filling.

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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