Apricot Gems Food

APRICOT GEMS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400°F. Spray 8-inch square pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until mixture looks like coarse crumbs.
• In small bowl, mix milk, almond extract and egg. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. With lightly floured fingers, press half of mixture in bottom of pan. Bake 5 minutes.
• Spoon preserves evenly over baked layer; carefully spread. Drop remaining half of dough mixture by small spoonfuls evenly over preserves. Bake 13 to 18 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• In small bowl, mix all glaze ingredients until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over cooled bars. For bars, cut into 5 rows by 5 rows.

NO-BAKE FRUIT COOKIES

Steps:

• Place apricots and hazelnuts in food processor. Cover and process, using quick on-and-off motions, until finely chopped. Place mixture in large bowl. Stir in cracker crumbs and milk.
• Shape mixture into 1-inch balls. Cover tightly and store in refrigerator up to 2 weeks or freeze up to 2 months.