Apricot Butter Cookies Recipes

APRICOT KOLACHES

Steps:

• Place dried apricots in a small saucepan and pour in just enough water to cover the apricots. Boil until the apricots are soft. Do not let all the water evaporate. Add a little bit more to keep the filling from burning.
• Add the sugar and continue to cook until thick.
• Either puree in a food processor or with an immersion blender in a bowl. If the filling is too runny, return it to the sauce pot to continue to cook.
• You can make the filling ahead of time and freeze it until you are ready to use it. Just thaw at room temperature when you are ready to use.
• Sift flour and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
• Beat the cream cheese and butter together with a stand mixer or a hand mixer until completely incorporated and creamy (3-5 minutes).
• Reduce the speed of the mixer and slowly add in the flour. I used 5 additions and completely mixed in the flour each time. The dough will be soft but not sticky.
• Divide the dough into 4 equal parts and flatten each to ¾" thick. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until hard, at least 2 hours.
• Pre-heat the oven to 375F. Move the oven rack one setting higher than the center.
• Take one of the disks of dough from the refrigerator and lightly flour both sides. Spread granulated sugar on your pastry board or work surface. Place the dough on top and roll out pastry to 1/16" to 1/8" thick. Most recipes say 1/8" but my Husband remembered them being thinner.
• With a pastry wheel or sharp knife, trim the dough into a square and then cut the square into 16 smaller squares. My dough never rolled out into a perfect circle so I would just cut as many 1 1/2 " squares a possible, saving the scraps for later.
• Place a dollop of filling into the center of each square. I used ½ teaspoon to ¾ teaspoon for each.
• Gently grab two opposite corners and fold one over the other, gently pressing down to try and seal them together. Gently move it to a parchment covered baking sheet. Repeat with all remaining squares.
• Sprinkle the middles of the kolaches with just a touch of granulated sugar.
• Placing the kolaches no closer than 1" apart.
• Bake 12-14 minutes or until the bottom edges are a golden and you can smell them. Let cool slightly on the pan on a wire rack and then move them gently to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Repeat with all remaining dough. Refrigerate and re-roll your scraps. Amazing.

APRICOT BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick cookie sheet). In medium bowl, beat 1 cup butter, 3/4 cup powdered sugar and the vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in flour until well blended. Stir in finely chopped apricots.
• Shape dough into 1-inch balls. On ungreased cookie sheet, place balls 2 inches apart.
• Bake 8 to 12 minutes or until bottoms are light golden brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• In small bowl, beat 1/4 cup butter and the apricot preserves with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Beat in 1 cup powdered sugar until well blended. Spread frosting over cookies. Top each cookie with apricot strip.

APRICOT BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• Simmer apricots, water, and 1/4 cup granulated sugar in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved and liquid is reduced by about half, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add rum, then cool slightly. Purée in a food processor or blender until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids).
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Beat together butter, brown sugar, and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at moderate speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in vanilla and egg. Add flour mixture and mix at low speed until just combined. Form dough into a log and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Divide dough into 8 pieces. Put 1 piece of dough on a sheet of plastic wrap, then fold plastic wrap over dough. Form piece into an 8-inch rope (dough will be very soft). Transfer in plastic wrap to 1 of 2 ungreased baking sheets, then remove plastic wrap. Pat rope into an 8- by 1 1/2-inch rectangle. Make more ropes and pat into rectangles in same manner, arranging them about 2 inches apart. Make a shallow trough lengthwise down center of each rectangle with your finger and spread apricot pureé in trough. Bake in batches in middle of oven until edges are golden, 18 to 20 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• Whisk together confectioners sugar, lemon juice, and enough water (about 2 1/2 teaspoons) to make a thick but pourable icing. Drizzle icing over rectangles and cut diagonally into 1-inch-thick strips. Let stand until icing is set, about 15 minutes.
• Cooks' note:
• • Cookies keep, layered between sheets of wax or parchment paper, in an airtight container at room temperature 1 week.

APRICOT BUTTER COOKIES

Steps:

• In a small saucepan combine the apricots, 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar, and 2/3 cup of water, simmer the mixture for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the mixture is reduced by half, and add the rum. Let the mixture cool slightly and in a blender purée it.
• In a bowl whisk together the flour, the baking powder, and a pinch of salt. In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat together the butter, the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and the brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, beat in the vanilla and the egg, and beat the mixture until it is combined well. Add the flour mixture and beat the dough until it is just combined. Form the dough into a log, chill it for 1 hour, and divide it into 8 pieces.
• Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, on a sheet of plastic wrap form the pieces into 8-inch ropes, wrapping the plastic wrap around the ropes to keep the dough from sticking, and on 2 baking sheets pat the rope into a 8- by 1 1/2-inch rectangles. Make a canal down the center of each rectangle with your finger and spread the apricot purée in the canals. Bake the rectangles in 2 batches in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the edges are golden, transfer them to racks, and let them cool. In a small bowl whisk together the confectioners' sugar, the lemon juice, and enough water to make a thick but pourable icing, drizzle the icing over the rectangles diagonally into 1-inch strips. The cookies keep in an airtight container for 1 week.

BEATRICE SAVITZ'S APRICOT COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
• Place apricots, lemon juice, white sugar in a small saucepan. Add enough water to just cover the apricots. Bring to a boil, and cook until fruit is soft. Chop coarsely.
• Sift flour, oatmeal and brown sugar together. Melt butter or margarine over low heat and stir into flour mixture. Put 2/3 of this mixture into 8 x 8 inch greased pan. Spread apricot mixture over crust. Sprinkle remaining oatmeal mixture over apricots.
• Bake for about 35 minutes.

LIDIA'S ALMOND-APRICOT BUTTER COOKIES RECIPE - (4.2/5)

Steps:

• Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl. Beat butter and sugar in separate bowl with an electric mixer until very pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes, then beat in egg and both extracts. At low speed, beat in flour mixture just until a dough forms. Wrap dough in plastic and chill until firm, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350°F with racks in the top and bottom thirds. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Pinch off heaping teaspoon-size balls of dough and roll into balls. Place balls on the prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Bake until puffed, but not browned, about 8 minutes. Remove baking sheets from oven and carefully make a small crater in the middle of each cookie using a teaspoon-size measuring spoon. Fill each crater with ¼ to ½ teaspoon preserves and sprinkle a couple of slivered almonds in preserves. Continue to bake cookies until golden brown on bottom and edges, about 8 minutes more. Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes and then transfer to racks and cool completely. (These cookies can be prepared up to 3 days ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature).