Apricot Cookies

[xraytech]

Well with Christmas drawing near and we get ready to start the third week of advent means time for holiday baking.
Apricot cookies has long been a favorite of the entire family.

Here is the recipe:

First start out with 2 pounds of dried apricots in a saucepan, fill with water until almost covered. Place on medium low heat and start to stew apricots once they start breaking down add slightly more than 1/2 cup of sugar and continue to slowly cook. When apricots are very soft and mixture is thick purée mixture with immersion blender or food processor.

Then to make the dough mix together 2 sticks of oleo softened, 8 oz cream cheese softened, and 2 cups of flour. This will make a stuff yet sticky dough. Wrap dough in waxed paper and let chill in fridge for about an hour.

 

[xraytech]

After dough is chilled liberally dust dough board with a mixture of flour and confectionary sugar.
Roll dough out until about 1/4-1/3" thick
Cut dough into squares. I prefer cut into 2.5" squares.
Then place a little bit of filling in middle of dough squares

 

[xraytech]

After placing filling on dough, take opposite corners, pinch together and fold down, only do this on one side leaving other ends open

Finally you bake in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until lightly brown

 

[xraytech]

Once slightly cooled dust with confectionary sugar and consume

 

[rp2813]

Those look beautiful!  I love all things apricot. 

 

The first house my parents bought was built in 1949 on an old apricot orchard.  My dad instructed the builder to save as many trees as possible.  We had six on our small lot, and they were the good ones -- Blenheims -- which have nearly vanished from California orchards.

 

[frigilux]

I keep trying to pick a few of them off the plate but this glass screen keeps getting in the way. They look so tasty!

 

[NYCWriter]

Mom makes ...

... a variation of these, along with apricot roll.

 

[twintubdexter]

Ralph...

...another thing we have in common...growing up in homes that were on what was originally an apricot ranch. The trees in our yard were Moorparks and a small part of the orchard was still next door. I tend to hate all things apricot, at least anything that resembles fresh or dried ones. Pies, jams and these cookies are fine and they look great. I spent several summers as a child cutting cots next door in the hot sun. A huge tray which took at least an hour to cut got you a whopping 25 cents. You got sick of the "cot smell," your hands were sticky and usually got cut up. The Italians that owned the ranch (very wealthy at this point for selling many, many acres to developers) would come by and inspect your work. If you got lazy like I did you would often break the cots apart since it was faster than using a knife...and you would get screamed at..."NO BREAKA THE COTS!" It was like being on a chain gang without the chains. We occasionally would have "cot fights" with the over ripe ones they picked off the ground when the Italian gestapo wasn't looking.

 

[bajaespuma]

This is Rugelach.

 

[kevin313]

Sam - do these ever look good!! We always called them "kolache" and the Polish bakeries all sell them here in Detroit. Apricot, raspberry or prune filled. Yours look beautiful!

 

[rp2813]

Cutting 'cots

Joe,

 

I guess your story explains how Moorpark Avenue got its name.

 

Fortunately, I was born too late to be recruited for cot cutting, but I know people who had summer experiences similar to yours.   I can truly understand your aversion to anything apricot as a result. 

 

I feel the same way about persimmons.  The mushy kind.  I'd have to pick from the tree in back of our house and would almost always get slimed by a falling one.  There isn't a single thing made from persimmons that I can't live without.

 

My uncle bought property on an old prune orchard in Monte Sereno in the '60s and we'd go up there and shake the trees to get the ripe ones to drop.  That's the closest I got to any sort of harvest work.  I really like prunes right off the tree when they still have some crunch.  Good luck finding any such thing around these parts anymore.

 

[mattl]

I make apricot and prune filled cookies, shaped similarly but with a totally different dough.

 

Kevin good to see you posting you seemed to be MIA for a while.  We're due for a video soon I hope...

 

[twintubdexter]

Hey Kevin...

I was just about to send out an Autowasher SOS. I haven't seen any Cavalcade of Food posts for awhile. I thought "he might have gone back to France or maybe Ralph dropped the camera." Glad to see you're still around and probably baking up a holiday storm.