Plum Pie

     For some reason, I've begun to think of Monday as pie day. Sometimes this is because a yummy slice of pie turns any day into a good day, but with today being Memorial Day, it seems fitting to have an all-American dessert. I know plum isn't the most popular pie flavor, but it's actually my second favorite, so I encourage you to give it a chance. This recipe is very similar to my triple berry pie recipe (my first favorite) that I posted a couple of weeks ago. I use the same crumble topping, and again, I'm going to take a shortcut and use pre-made crust.

INGREDIENTS:
Filling:
8 plums
1 box refrigerated pie crust
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup whole oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 stick of very cold butter

DIRECTIONS:
1. Spray a 9 inch glass pie plate and fit the crust in the bottom. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Wash and cut the plums into thin wedges. You don't need to peel them because the skin is very thin. If they are very ripe, skip to step 4.
3. If the plums are not very ripe yet, that's ok. Just put them in a pot and heat them on the stove for a few minutes until they darken and soften ever so slightly.
4. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch, flour, cinnamon, and brown sugar.
5. In a large bowl, toss the plum wedges with this dry mixture. Then add this to the pie plate.

6. (shameless cut and paste) For the topping, you need to combine all of the dry ingredients with the butter until the texture looks like small peas. To do this, you have three options: a) Pulse the mixture in a food processor. b) Use a pastry cutter to do it by hand. (My favorite method) or c) use two butter knives.  Whatever you do, don't just use your hands because then the butter will melt and the texture won't be right.  It should look like this: 

7. Cover the pie with this crumble, using all of it. Then bake for 1 hour, cool on the counter for 1 hour, and refrigerate 2 additional hours before serving. Store in the fridge.

Tomorrow's recipe: French onion soup!