Almond Apricot Windows Recipes

APRICOT ALMOND BLONDIES

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in chips, almonds and apricots., Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool.

ALMOND APRICOT TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• To make the frangipane, place the almonds and the sugar in a food processor and grind until sandy. Add the butter and continue mixing then add the egg, vanilla, and the flour and mix until smooth.
• To make the tart, on a floured work surface pass your rolling pin over the pastry just to flatten any ridges.
• Place it on a parchment paper lined sheet pan and cut out a 9-inch disk. Spread the almond frangipane in the center of the tart leaving a 1-inch border. Firmly place the apricot halves into the frangipane spacing them evenly around the tart. Dot the spaces between the apricots with the whole almonds.
• Bake until golden brown on the top and puffy, about 30 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

ALMOND-APRICOT TART

Steps:

• Place apricots and whisky in a saucepan, bring to a simmer and set aside. Turn apricots in warm whisky from time to time while continuing with preparation.
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine flour, 1/4 cup ground almonds, salt and granulated sugar in a bowl or food processor. Whisk to combine. By hand or machine, add butter, pulsing or using a pastry blender to make a crumbly mixture. Beat egg yolk with 4 tablespoons cold water and add, mixing or pulsing until ingredients come together to form a dough. Add a little more water as needed.
• Shape pastry into a flattened disk on a floured surface and roll to fit a 9-inch straight-sided tart pan. Prick the bottom. Line with foil and pastry weights and bake 10 minutes. Remove foil and weights and bake 10 minutes more, until lightly golden. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
• Drain apricots, reserving any whisky. Tightly line pastry shell with apricots. Whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup ground almonds and confectioners' sugar in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk mascarpone until smooth. Beat 2 remaining eggs and add to mascarpone along with reserved whisky and almond extract. Mix into combined almonds and confectioners' sugar. Pour over apricots in pastry shell.
• Place tart in oven and bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle sliced almonds around the outside edge of the tart filling to form a border about an inch wide. Return to oven and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the filling is puffed and lightly browned. Remove from oven, place on a rack and let cool to room temperature before serving.

SWIRLED ALMOND-APRICOT BARK

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with foil, shiny-side up; smooth out the creases. Make sure all your tools are dry.
• Chop the bittersweet and white chocolate into 1/2-inch pieces with a large knife. Place all but 1/2 cup of the bittersweet chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave 15 seconds, then stir with a rubber spatula. Continue microwaving and stirring at 15-second intervals until melted, about 3 minutes total. Immediately add the reserved chopped bittersweet chocolate to the bowl; stir vigorously until melted and shiny. Repeat with the white chocolate in a separate bowl. Don't worry if there are a few small unmelted pieces.
• Pour the 2 chocolates side by side onto the prepared baking sheet; use the rubber spatula to swirl them together and spread into a 10-to-12-inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick.
• Press the almonds and apricots into the chocolate, arranging them so each bite has a mix of flavors and textures. Sprinkle with fennel seeds. Let the bark harden completely at room temperature, about 1 hour. (If the room is warm, you may need to freeze the bark for a few minutes.) Break into pieces and store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks.

ALMOND-APRICOT FOOD PROCESSOR CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter cake pan, then line bottom with parchment paper. Butter parchment, then sprinkle evenly with 1/4 cup almonds.
• Pit and coarsely chop 6 oz. apricots. Pulse salt, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and remaining 2 1/4 cups almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Add eggs, vanilla, 6 Tbsp. butter, and half of the chopped apricots; process until very smooth. Add flour and baking powder; pulse until combined, then fold in remaining chopped apricots. Transfer to prepared pan.
• Bake cake until golden brown and the center no longer jiggles when shaken, 60-70 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool completely.
• Meanwhile, pit and slice remaining 10 oz. apricots. Toss apricots, amaretto, if using, and remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar in a medium bowl. Let sit at least 10 minutes or up to 1 hour. Using a whisk or an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip cream to soft peaks in a large bowl.
• Run a knife around edges of cooled cake and invert onto a platter.
• Serve with macerated apricots and whipped cream alongside.
• Do Ahead
• Cake can be baked 3 days ahead. Cover and chill. Let come to room temperature before serving.

APRICOT ALMOND TORTE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugar and vanilla on high speed until thick and lemon-colored. Combine flour, almonds, baking powder and salt; gradually fold into egg mixture alternately with the whipped cream., Transfer to two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake 22-28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and salt until smooth. Beat in extract. Fold in whipped cream., Cut each cake horizontally into two layers. Place bottom layer on a serving plate; spread with 1 cup frosting. Top with another cake layer; spread with half the preserves. Repeat layers. Frost sides of cake; decorate the top edge with remaining frosting. Sprinkle with almonds.

ALMOND APRICOT BISCOTTI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Blend in butter with a pastry blender or your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add whole egg, milk, and extracts, stirring with a fork until a soft dough forms, then knead in almonds.
• Divide dough between 2 sheets of wax paper, then form into 2 equal mounds and flatten each mound into a 5-inch disk. Put half of apricots in center of 1 disk and fold dough over apricots to enclose them (use wax paper as an aid if necessary), then transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Form into a 14- by 2 1/2-inch log lengthwise on 1 side of baking sheet, spreading dough with wet hands. Make another log with remaining dough and apricots, arranging it about 4 inches from first log.
• Brush logs with egg wash and bake in middle of oven until pale golden and firm, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheet on a rack 20 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300°F while logs cool.
• Carefully transfer baked logs to a cutting board using 2 wide metal spatulas, then cut logs diagonally into 1/2-inch-wide slices with a large heavy knife.
• Line baking sheet with a clean sheet of parchment. Stand slices, curved sides up, 1/2 inch apart on baking sheet and bake in upper third of oven until biscotti are dry, about 30 minutes (they will become hard as they cool). Transfer biscotti to rack to cool.