Autumn Prune Plum Pie with Almond Thyme Crust
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Prune Plum Pie is one of my all-time favorites. It's both tart and sweet and reminiscent of a strawberry rhubarb pie. The tasty Italian plums sit in an easy to make flaky pastry that's gently flavored with almond flour and thyme. This is one dessert recipe you're not going to want to miss!
Breaking news: The Endless Meal is changing directions and is going to be a pie recipe only blog from now until forever.
Joking, but don't want to be joking. Need to find a way to justify eating plum pie (aka: the best damn pie ever) every day for the rest of my life.
I usually claim that strawberry rhubarb pie is my all-time fav. Then, when I make my once-a-year plum pie, I realize that it's not. THIS is my favorite pie recipe. Prune Plum Pie is EVERYTHING.
Don't believe me? My dad sent me a text the day after we had him over for dinner that read, “THE most amazing prune pie I have ever tasted.” And this comes from a man whose granny made plum pies for him nearly every day during plum season when he was young and whose mom was famous in her hometown for making the best pies ever. It's quite the compliment.
A few weeks ago, my dad brought over a GIANT bag of prune plums. Seriously, guys, there was an insane amount. They were picked just shy of being ripe, so I left them on the counter for a few days before digging in.
Little Ava was the biggest fan, going through five or six plums in a sitting. I'd have to limit her or I swear she'd have eaten the entire bag.
Growing up, I spent a lot of time in my granddad's orchard. I loved walking through the old gnarly fruit trees picking cherries, peaches, plums, pears, and apples that were tree-ripened and perfect in every way. It spoilt me. I rarely eat fruit anymore because of it. Trust me, you can't go from eating juicy/ crunchy/ sweet apples from a tree to eating one from a grocery store. It's just not possible.
It's why these plums, plucked from the tree a little too soon, found their way into a pie.
All my fruit pickiness aside, look at how pretty these plums are.
Any pie is only as good as the crust. This is a true story.
I'm going to risk sounding like a bragger for a minute. Here it goes: I make kickass amazing pie crust. ? Also a true story.
I spent years trying to mimic my granny's pie crust. That woman made the best pie crust known to mankind. It was flaky to the point it would melt in your mouth. The filling was secondary, her pies were all about the crust.
I begged her for years to give me the recipe, but she refused. She was a bit of a funny woman and not at all grandmotherly in that way you expect grandmothers to be. She took her recipe with her and would be rolling over in her grave if she knew I cracked the secret AND was sharing it with you.
Seriously, there would be hell to pay.
Luckily for all of us, I believe in sharing.
THE pie crust, the one that is just like my granny's, I shared with you in the post Strawberry Rhubarb Pie with Extra Flaky Pie Crust. If you ever need a pie crust that will blow the minds of everyone who eats it, use that recipe.
For this plum pie, I wanted to switch it up just a little. I used that flaky pie crust recipe as a base, drew inspiration from the Medieval Strawberry Tart with Thyme Crust, and threw in some almond flour just for fun.
It took a little bit of testing as almond flour acts very differently than regular all-purpose flour. My first attempt at a one-to-one replacement didn't go so well. Don't worry, I tested and perfected this almond pie crust version.
This crust is every bit as flaky as the original, but with a hint of thyme flavor that totally works with the plums. Trust me when I say you're going to love this!
Healthier dessert recipes:
- Healthier Blueberry Jam Bars
- Must Make Coconut Fig Squares
- Salted Caramel No Churn Ice Cream
- Flourless Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
- Healthy Apple Crisp with Coconut and Pecans
- Lavender Lemon Angel Food Cake
Autumn Prune Plum Pie Recipe
Ingredients
The Pie Filling
- 2 lbs prune plums
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
The Crust
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¾ cup cold butter (cut into chunks)
- 2 tablespoons shortening
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves (chopped)
Instructions
- Begin by making the crust. Place the flour, almond flour, sugar, and sea salt in your food processor and pulse to mix. Add the butter, shortening, and thyme leaves and whizz until a grainy dough forms. Transfer the dough to a large bowl and add a tablespoon of cold water. Quickly work this into the dough using your fingertips. Note: the dough will seem too wet at this point. Divide the dough into two pieces, about ¾ of the dough for the crust and the other 1/4 for the cut out top. Roll into balls, cover with plastic wrap, and place the dough into your fridge. Let it rest for a half hour.1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup almond flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon sea salt, ¾ cup cold butter, 2 tablespoons shortening, 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- Cut 2 pieces of parchment paper, slightly bigger than you'll want your pie crust. Sprinkle a little flour on one piece and set the larger ball of dough on top. Press the ball down with your hands and shape into a circle. Lay the second piece of parchment paper on top. Roll the dough into a circle about 1 ½ inches larger than your pie pan. Remove the top parchment piece of paper and use the bottom one to transfer the dough to the pie pan, placing it into the pan with the parchment paper up. Peel off the paper and press the dough into the pan and crimp the edges with your fingers. Place the pie into your fridge.
- Again using 2 pieces of parchment paper, roll out the smaller ball to about 1/4 inch thick. Use a cookie stamp to cut out the dough. Place the cut-outs on parchment paper on a plate or baking sheet and put them into your fridge.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Pit and quarter your plums and add them to a large bowl. Toss with the sugar, flour, and vanilla.2 lbs prune plums, ¾ cup sugar, 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons vanilla
- Check the pie crust in your fridge. Once it has hardened (from the cold) add the prunes and top with the cut-outs. Place the pie on a baking sheet (to catch any drips) and immediately place it into your oven.
- Bake the pie for 45 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the pie is bubbling at the sides. If the crust starts to brown too much, tent loosely with aluminum foil. Let the pie cool for at least a half hour before eating.
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
