When Elsie Bozzo married the love of her life, Emil Rossi, they began farming orchards of walnuts, prunes, and apricots in Hollister, California that became ‘B & R Farms.’ She wondered, “What’s a girl supposed to do with all these harvests?” Although she did not have a recipe to follow, she was a great baker and worked on perfecting a very special dessert with her husband’s orchards in mind.
This simple but delicious apricot-prune pie became Emil’s all-time favorite dessert. Elsie still makes it once in a while for her family and has handed down the recipe to her great-grandchildren and now passes it on to you!
This open-faced pie is delicious served warm with pure vanilla ice cream or topped with whipped cream, the way Emil liked it. Enjoy and carry on this heritage recipe with your family.
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups dried Blenheim apricots
1 1/2 cups dried pitted prunes
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 pie shell recipe
1 cup heavy cream, lightly sweetened and whipped
METHOD:
Place apricots and prunes in a stainless steel saucepan and add enough water to cover the fruit by one inch. Bring to a boil and continue to cook over high heat for 4-5 minutes, or until the fruit is softened. Drain liquid from the fruit. (Reserve cooking liquid for another use, if desired.)
Place drained fruit in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, nuts, sugar, zest, and vanilla to the fruit and stir to combine. Stir in melted butter, mixing thoroughly.
Spoon filling into prepared pie shell. Bake for 1 hour at 350°F. When ready to serve, top with whipped cream.
SOURCE: Recipe courtesy of Elsie Rossi, B & R Farms
