Apricot Pastries

Submitted by Synthetic Fate

"This recipe is for the serious pastry chef. These little apricot pastries are absolutely delictible! It is my mom's recipe and requires making the pastry shell from scratch. It takes a little more time and effort to make these but your family will be glad you did because they are just so incredibley delicious!"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 40mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Yields: 64 Pastries

ingredients

• 2 cups dried apricots
• 1 package dry yeast
• 2 cups water, for cooking the apricots in
• 3⁄4 cup milk
• 3 cups flour
• 1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shortening
• powdered sugar, for sprinkling on top

• For Dusting Surface

• 3⁄4 cup powdered sugar, mixed with
• 1⁄4 cup flour

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. For Apricots: Cook apricots in water till tender, then cool. Set aside. *Note: Apricots will soak up all of the 2 cups of water, there should be no water left. If apricots are still not tender when the water has been absorbed, add more water by the tablespoon full. Do not over water. *Note Apricots from a box may be tart, add small amount of sugar to sweeten. For best results use dried apricots found in the produce section usually in celophane bags.
3. For Pastry Crust: Sift together flour, sugar and salt.
4. Cut in shortening with pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
5. Scald milk and let it cool till it is just warm.
6. Add yeast to milk and let soften.
7. Add egg and vanilla to milk mixture.
8. Add milk mixture to the flour mixture.
9. Mix well.
10. Divide dough into four parts.
11. Form each part of dough into a square.
12. On a surface well dusted with the powdered sugar/flour mixture, roll one part of the dough at a time to make 4 ten inch squares.
13. Cut each square into sixteen 2½-inch squares.
14. Forming the Pastries: Place heaping teaspoons of apricots in center of each individual square.
15. Pinch two opposite corners together.
16. Place two inches apart on greased cookie sheet.
17. Let stand ten minutes. *Note: Most yeast recipes require the dough to be left to rise. This 10 minutes to stand after forming the pastry is the only rising this recipe requires.
18. Bake at 350° for ten to twelve minutes.
19. Remove at once from pan to cool on rack.
20. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Reviews

[mianbao]

These are exquisite. The pastry is tender and the flavor of the apricots is wonderful. I will definitely be including these in my holiday cookie tray. Thank you very much for this recipe.

 

[christine.d]

I am excited to try these. My mom used to make apricot pastries as a Christmas Cookie. I can't find the recipe in her cookbooks, so I am hoping this is it, or at least close enough. My dad said she made a yeast dough, not a cream cheese based dough, for the cookies. I remember her cooking the apricot on the stove with water and a bit of sugar. We lost her six years ago, so I can't just ask her :( Is there a cultural heritage to your cookies? My parents are first generation European immigrants from the WW2 migration. Thanks for sharing!