Dried Fruit Winter Fruit Pie

Dried Fruit Winter Fruit Pie with an array of dried fruits, nuts, warm spices and rum for the perfect winter pie; heavy in flavor and a little bit boozy.

Winter Warm Fruit Pie
Winter Warm Fruit Pie

Dried Fruit – Winter Fruits

All summer long we indulge in strawberries, peaches, melons and a huge variety of farmer’s market fruits grown throughout America. 

Winter arrives and the pickings are slim.

Apples hang around long into the winter but the real fruit to incorporate into winter cooking is dried fruits

Apples
Apples

Dried fruits are loaded with natural sugars, which mean less sugar is needed in the recipes we put them in. 

Dried Fruits

Coming from a Mediterranean heritage, dried fruits are used in both our sweet and savory cooking. 

Dried Fruits and Nuts
Dried Fruits and Nuts

A Lamb Tajine wouldn’t be as flavorful or tender without the addition of dried apricots, raisins or dates.

Of course a luscious spiced Moroccan Rice definitely calls for dried fruits. 

While cookies, cakes and pies often have dried fruits, I have created new and different dried fruit treats from the ones I grew up with.

Healthy treats and to-go snacks that are loaded with protein, vitamins and nourishment.

Dried Fruit Protein Balls
Dried Fruit Protein Balls

No Bake Energy Bites are a must try!

Mediterranean Dried Fruit Treats
Mediterranean Dried Fruit Treats

Soak Dried Fruits

Obviously dried fruits lose the bulk of their volume when dehydrated from fresh to dried, even though the flavor can become more intensified.

Simply look at the grape and then the raisin, or plum and the prune.

At first, when I began to add dried fruits to my Homemade Granola mix, I baked them in with the grain and nuts, which nearly broke a tooth when I bit into them.

Bringing life back to these dried fruits we love, simply required a short soak.

Afterwards, adding the same dried fruits to my granola mix and then bake, they had a beautiful plump texture.

What To Use When Soaking Dried Fruits

Basically, we can soak dried fruits in anything liquid, even just a little water.

However, this soaking liquid can play a role in adding another layer of flavor to the fruit before adding it to a recipe.

For example; this recipe will have a few chopped apples in it, so a small amount of apple juice can be used to soak the dried fruit.

Another great opportunity to add a boozy element to the recipe, without adding more liquid to it, is to soak the dried fruits in booze!

A little goes a long way, and within minutes of soaking, the fruit plumps beautifully.

Winter Fruit Pie With Booze

Alcohol has a unique way of extracting the essence of flavors from whatever is soaked in it. 

Herbal tinctures are made from soaking herbs, seeds and other plant flavors in a flavorless alcohol, like vodka, for about 2 weeks.

The flavor and essence is then imparted into the vodka and used for cooking or medicine. 

Dried fruits, when soaked for a short time in alcohol, plump the dried fruit back to life, and extract its sugar and flavor. 

In this winter fruit pie, soaking the dried fruit in rum brings a luscious flavor to the pie so that the apples in it, take a backseat to the dried fruit and are there primarily for their juice. 

Passion For Pie

Dried Fruit Apple Pie
Dried Fruit Apple Pie

While I love to bake so many different types of desserts, I will admit that pies are my favorite to eat and to bake. 

Pie pastry can be as easy as a crushed mixture of nuts, grain and binder (egg white), pressed into a pie pan.

Or an elaborately rolled out pie crust with very fancy designs cut out of the crust to lay on top. 

For this winter fruit pie I covered the top of the pie with cut-outs from the scraps of pie crust. So easy and you really can’t make a mistake. 

Best Pie Crusts

While you can use a store-bought pie crust, phyllo dough or puff pastry as your pie crust, I have provided the recipe for the crust I prefer with this winter fruit pie.

It is stable enough to press out shapes to lay across the top of a pie.

Don’t be intimidated at making your own crust, simply toss all the ingredients into a food processor and let the machine do all the work. 

Pie crusts are easy to patch together, even if it doesn’t roll out into one uniform piece of dough.

Afterwards, rather than roll out a second top, I cheat and use the scraps of pie dough to press small shapes (with a cookie cutter), to cover the top.

It actually looks more festive than the old-fashion cover, and not as difficult as a lattice. 

Pie Crust Cut-Outs
Pie Crust Cut-Outs

Ingredients Needed

  • Butter
  • Flour
  • Nuts
  • Sugar
  • Eggs
  • Apples
  • Dried fruit – of your choice
  • Lemon
  • Brown sugar
  • Cornstarch or potato starch
  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg
  • Cloves
  • Ginger
  • Allspice
  • Salt
  • Rum

Equipment Needed

  • Food processor
  • Measuring cup
  • Measuring spoons
  • Spatula
  • Rolling pin
  • Baking dish
  • Mixing bowl
  • Cookie cutter – shapes that depict autumn or winter – these have been my favorites.
  • Basting brush
  • Oven
Dried Fruit Winter Fruit Pie

Dried Fruit Winter Fruit Pie

Dried Fruit Winter Fruit Pie with an array of dried fruits, nuts, warm spices and rum for the perfect winter pie; heavy in flavor and a little bit boozy.
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Pies
Cuisine: Mediterranean Fusion
Keyword: Dried Fruit Winter Fruit Pie
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 8 servings

Equipment

  • Pie plate
  • Cookie cutter
  • Basting brush

Ingredients

  • 8 tbsp Unsalted Butter cold
  • 1 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour more for dusting
  • 1/4 cup Walnuts, or preferred nut crushed
  • 1 tbsp Sugar
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1-3 tbsp Cold water
  • Filling
  • 5 Apples peeled and cored
  • 3 cups Dried Fruit, finely chopped either raisins, cranberries, cherries, apricots or a mix
  • 1 Lemon juice and zest
  • 1 Egg
  • 1/2 cup Brown sugar extra for topping
  • 1/4 cup Cornstarch or potato starch
  • 1 tbsp Cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp Cloves
  • 1/2 tsp Ginger
  • 1 tsp Allspice
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 cup Rum

Instructions

  • Crust
    Crush the nuts first in the processor and then remove them.
    Place the butter, flour and sugar into the processor and whisk together until all have incorporated.
    Add the nuts and pulse a few times.
  • In a pourable cup, whisk 1 egg and 1 tablespoon cold water together.
    With the machine running, slowly pour the egg mixture in. Let it run a few seconds until the dough comes together into a ball.
  • If it still looks dry, then add a few drops at a time (while machine runs), until it comes together.
    The opposite if it looks too wet to form a ball, add a few pinches of flour at a time until it comes together.
  • Roll out the crust on a floured surface until it is between 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch thick.
    Gather it around the rolling pin and place it in the pie pan.
    Cut off excess dough, press neatly into the pan and crimp the edges.
  • Toss the scrapes back into the processor, turn it on and add just a drop or two of water until it comes together into a ball again.
    Roll the dough out and make cookie press shapes.
    Place those on a parchment paper and pop into the fridge until ready to use. Now let's make the filling!
  • Preheat oven to 350
    Place a parchment paper on a cookie sheet (drips).
  • Filling
    Soak the dried fruit in rum while peeling and chopping or shredding the apples.
    Finely chopped apple pieces work best.
  • In a large bowl combine apples, lemon juice, lightly whisked egg, dried fruit with rum, sugar, and spices and toss well.
  • Sprinkle cornstarch across the top and mix well. Really mix well.
  • Pour filling into prepared crust.
    Bake for 45-minutes.
    Remove the pie from the oven to briefly add the cutouts.
  • Add the cut-out dough pieces.
    Whisk the last egg with a drizzle of water to make an egg wash.
    Brush the egg wash across the cut-outs pieces of dough and around the crimped edges.
    Sprinkle a little sugar across the top. This adds a caramel affect to the cutouts and really makes them pop when baked.
  • Place the pie back into the oven and finish baking until the filling is firm and the crust is golden brown, about another 10-15 minutes.

Notes

Adding the cut out pieces of dough the last 10-minutes of baking, keeps them from over cooking. Think of them like a cookie, which usually only needs about 10-minutes to bake. 
Dried Fruit Winter Fruit Pie
Dried Fruit Winter Fruit Pie
Robin
5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)
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