Apricot Pecan Tart Recipes

APRICOT TARTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat the butter, cream cheese and flour until blended. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. , For filling, in a small saucepan, bring apricots and water to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Drain. Add the pecans, sugar, marmalade, cinnamon and cloves; set aside., Shape dough into 24 balls. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of greased miniature muffin cups. Spoon filling into cups. , Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until browned. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , For topping, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spoon a dollop onto each tart. Store in the refrigerator.

APRICOT-CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE BITES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.
• Place the phyllo cups on the baking sheet. Add about 1/4 teaspoon apricot preserves to each cup, followed by 1/4 teaspoon mini chocolate chips; set aside.
• Combine pecans, brown sugar, half-and-half, honey, and rum extract in a small mixing bowl. Stir well. Distribute the pecan mixture equally among the phyllo cups.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges start to turn golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

WINNING APRICOT BARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk flour and baking powder; gradually add to creamed mixture, mixing well. Fold in coconut and walnuts., Press two-thirds of dough onto the bottom of a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Spread with preserves; crumble remaining dough over preserves. Bake 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

PECAN-APRICOT TORTE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan. Toast pecans for 5 to 6 minutes, or until they release their aroma. Cool completely, and grind to a fine powder. Place in a bowl; combine with flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg yolks with half the granulated sugar until mixture is thick and pale and holds a 1-second ribbon. Beat in vanilla, and set aside.
• In a clean bowl, whip egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Add remaining sugar; beat until stiff peaks form again.
• Stir 1 cup of the whites into yolk mixture. Place a quarter of remaining whites on top, and sprinkle with a quarter of the flour-nut mixture. Fold in quickly. Repeat until both flour and whites are used up. Turn batter into pan, and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unmold.
• When cake is completely cool, invert and split into two layers with a serrated knife. Warm preserves; spoon 1 1/2 cups onto bottom layer. Replace top layer. Strain remaining preserves, and brush onto sides. Decorate cake with confectioners' sugar. Note: To make a chunkier preserve filling, simmer 1/2 cup dried apricots cut in pieces in water until soft, and add to warm preserves.

PUFF PASTRY TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with nonstick cooking spray.;
• Sprinkle the cutting board with flour. Roll-out the creases.;
• Unfold the pastry onto parchment paper. Using a fork, pierce a 1/2-inch border around the edge of the puff pastry. Prick the center of the pastry as well, about 10 times all over.
• Arrange the fruit, nuts, and cheese on top of the pastry in a uniform manner, avoiding the border. Brush the fruit with the melted butter and top with the cinnamon and sugar. Bake 15 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and beginning to puff.
• If desired, brush the honey over the fruit and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Serve warm with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
• Puff Pastry Variations:
• Apricot Plum Tart: Cut 2 plums and apricots into 1/4-inch thick slices. Arrange on top of puff pastry and brush with melted apricot preserves rather than honey.
• Rhubarb Tart: Thinly slice 8-ounces rhubarb stalks on the diagonal and marinate in 1 cup orange juice and 1/2 cup sugar for 10 minutes. Strain the rhubarb, reserving the juices. Arrange the rhubarb slices on top of the puff pastry. Sprinkle with white sugar. While the pastry bakes, reduce the rhubarb juices until it becomes a syrupy glaze. When the pastry finishes, brush the pastry with the glaze.
• Pear, Pecan and Blue Cheese Tart: Slice 3 cups Bartlett pears and place on the puff pastry. Top with 1/2 cup chopped pecans. After brushing on the honey, top with 1/3 cup blue cheese crumbles.

WARM APRICOT TART

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Roll the dough into a 12-inch diameter circle that is about 1/4-inch thick. Transfer the dough to a 10-inch tart pan by rolling the dough around the rolling pin. Line the tart pan with the dough. Dock the dough and set aside.
• Make the almond cream. Spread a layer of almond cream inside the tart. Pit and quarter the fresh apricots. Arrange them on top of the almond cream by standing them on end. Sprinkle slivered almonds on top of the tart and bake for about 40 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar.
• Place the almond flour, cake flour and cold butter in the mixing bowl and mix until combined. Add the salt and powdered sugar. Mix until combined. Add the egg and mix until combined. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about 1 hour to chill dough.
• Roll the dough to the desired size on a lightly floured work surface.
• Baking instructions vary and will be specified in any recipe using this dough. The dough will keep, well wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for 1 week or in the freezer for 1 month. Thaw the dough in the refrigerator until ready to use. If you want to store the dough already rolled into a tart pan, wrap it in plastic wrap.
• It is possible to buy almond flour (use 1 cup if you do) but it just as easy to make your own. Place the slivered almonds (no skin preferred) and granulated sugar into the food processor. Pulse until the almonds and sugar reach the consistency of flour. It is best to pulse because the heat of the blade will cause the release of the oil from the almonds.
• Mix in the flour. Mix in the butter. Add the egg and mix until the mixture becomes light and creamy. Do not overmix or the gluten in the flour will overdevelop and the almond cream will lose its delicate texture when baked.

MINI APRICOT TARTES TATIN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees with rack in upper third position. Generously butter a standard 12-cup nonstick muffin pan. On a lightly floured surface, roll out pate brisee to about 1/8-inch thick. Using a 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 12 rounds. Transfer rounds to a parchment paper-lined rimmed baking sheet and place in freezer for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the caramel: combine the sugar with 3 tablespoons water in a small saucepan and cook, swirling the pan occasionally (do not stir), over medium-high heat until deep amber, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in butter. Divide caramel among prepared muffin cups. Place two apricot halves, cut side up, in each muffin cup. Remove the chilled pastry rounds from freezer and place on top of apricots.
• Place muffin pan on the chilled baking sheet and bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until pastry is crisp and golden brown, 30 to 32 minutes. Top muffin pan with a rimmed baking sheet and invert. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream, if desired.

CHOCOLATE-CHUNK COOKIES WITH PECANS, DRIED APRICOTS, AND TART CHERRIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• In a bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in flour mixture until just combined.
• Chop chocolate into 1/2-inch pieces and stir into batter with apricots, cherries, and pecans. Working in batches, drop dough by heaping tablespoons about 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets and bake in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, about 12 minutes total, or until golden. Cool cookies on baking sheets on racks 5 minutes and transfer with a spatula to racks to cool. Cookies keep in airtight containers at room temperature 5 days.

APRICOT-PECAN UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Steps:

• Make topping
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add brown sugar and stir until mixture begins to bubble, about 2 minutes. Pour into 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides. Spread mixture over bottom of pan. Sprinkle nuts over. Place each cherry half, cut side down, into pitted center of each apricot half. Arrange apricot halves, cherry side down, in concentric circles in pan.
• Make cake
• Whisk flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until light and creamy. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients alternately with milk in 3 additions.
• Spoon batter over apricots. Bake cake until top is golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer pan to rack. Run knife around pan sides. Cool cake on rack 10 minutes. Place plate over pan; invert cake onto plate. Gently lift off pan.
• Set cake pan over low heat and whisk any sugar mixture remaining in pan until syrupy, about 30 seconds. Pour syrup over cake. Serve warm with whipped cream

PECAN TARTS

Steps:

• In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy; blend in flour and salt. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Shape into 1-in. balls; press onto the bottom and up the sides of greased mini-muffin cups. , For filling, in a small bowl, beat the egg. Add brown sugar, butter and vanilla; mix well. Stir in pecans. Spoon into tart shells. , Bake at 325° for 25-30 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before carefully removing from pans. Garnish with maraschino cherries if desired.

EVERYDAY APRICOT TART

Steps:

• Make filling: Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl. In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together cornstarch and egg yolks. Whisk in milk and honey until cornstarch is dissolved. Whisking constantly, cook over medium until the first large bubble sputters. Reduce heat to low; cook, whisking, 1 minute. Remove from heat; immediately pour through sieve into bowl. Press plastic wrap on surface of pudding; refrigerate 3 hours (or up to 3 days).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt, and butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons ice water. Pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if needed, add up to 2 tablespoons ice water). Do not overmix.
• Press dough evenly into a 9-inch removable-bottom tart pan, starting with the sides. Freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes. Prick dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden, pressing down with a spoon if the tart shell puffs, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely. (To store, keep at room temperature, up to 1 day.)
• Whisk chilled pudding until smooth; spread in cooled tart shell, and top with apricots. In a small saucepan, heat jam over medium-low until liquefied; gently brush apricots with jam. Refrigerate tart in pan 1 hour (or up to 3 hours); unmold just before serving.

DUTCH APRICOT PIE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine sugar and tapioca. Add apricots and lemon juice; toss to coat. Let stand for 15 minutes. Line a 9-in. pie plate with pastry. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond edge of plate; flute edges. Pour filling into crust., In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar and pecans. Stir in butter. Sprinkle over filling. , Bake at 350° for 40-45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 minutes to prevent overbrowning. Cool on a wire rack. Store in the refrigerator.