Apricot Pandowdy Food

APRICOT OAT BARS

Steps:

• Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 13 by 2-inch metal baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray. Line the bottom and sides of the pan with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with vegetable oil cooking spray and set aside.
• Filling: In a small bowl, mix together the jam and the apricots. Set aside.
• Crust: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Stir in the oats and walnuts. Add the butter, egg and vanilla and stir until incorporated.
• Using a fork or clean fingers, lightly press half of the crust mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Using a spatula, spread the filling over the crust leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge of the pan. Cover the filling with the remaining crust mixture and gently press to flatten. Bake until light golden, about 30 to 35 minutes. Cool for 1 hour. Cut into bars and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

APRICOT LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on high for 2 minutes. Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. , Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. , For frosting, in a small heavy saucepan, cook butter over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown. Pour into a large bowl; beat in confectioners' sugar and orange juice. , Cut each cake horizontally into two layers. Place bottom layer on a serving plate; spread with half of the apricot preserves. Top with a second layer; spread with 1/2 cup frosting. Top with a third layer; spread with remaining apricot preserves. Top with the remaining layer. Frost top and sides of cake with remaining frosting., Sprinkle with nuts. Store in the refrigerator.

APRICOT PANDOWDY

Steps:

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F.
• Toss apricots with cornstarch and 1/2 cup sugar until coated.
• Heat butter in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then stir in apricot mixture. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, then immediately transfer to a 9-inch pie plate.
• Fold pie dough into quarters and trim 1 inch from rounded edge. Unfold (trimmed round should be 8 inches in diameter) and put on top of fruit. Brush pastry with milk and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar.
• Bake until apricot filling is bubbling and crust is golden, about 20 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before serving.

APRICOT TART

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat, and set aside on a floured surface. Roll dough out to a 14-inch circle, and place on paper.
• In a medium bowl, toss apricots together with sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon juice, and zest. Place apricot mixture on the center of the dough. Spread out, leaving a 2-inch border of dough; turn ends of apricots upward. Fold the dough up and over the apricots, making a crease or fold every 4 to 5 inches to enclose fruit and prevent juices from seeping out.
• Brush dough thoroughly with heavy cream; sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes, and lower oven temperature to 375 degrees, rotating baking sheet 45 degrees. Continue to bake until tart is evenly browned and apricots are bubbling, about 25 minutes more.
• Transfer tart from baking sheet to a cooling rack, and cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature.

APRICOT WINDOWS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat an 11-by-17-inch baking pan with cooking spray, and line with parchment; set aside. Have ready a pastry bag fitted with a #11 plain tip. Spoon jam into a medium bowl, and beat with a rubber spatula to smooth out texture; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal and salt; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar, and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition. Reduce speed to low, add reserved flour mixture, and beat until thoroughly combined. Remove 1 3/4 cups of the dough; use it to fill the prepared pastry bag. Fold the end over to keep dough from drying out; set aside.
• Using an offset spatula, spread the remaining dough into the prepared pan as evenly and smoothly as possible. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.
• Remove pan from oven, and transfer to a heat-proof surface. Using an offset spatula, spread jam on top in an even layer. Using the prepared pastry bag, pipe parallel lines of dough spaced 1 inch apart over the jam. Pipe perpendicular lines of dough at 1-inch intervals over first lines. Place in oven, and bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Cut into 1-by-3-inch bars or 3-inch squares.

STRAWBERRY PANDOWDY

Steps:

• For the dough: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, ginger and salt. Add the shortening in spoonfuls, then the butter, and pulse 12 to 15 times to combine. Add the ice water through the top and blend until the dough forms a loose ball, 15 to 30 seconds. Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment or plastic wrap and sandwich it with another piece on top. Flatten the dough to a 6-inch disc and refrigerate for 20 minutes and up to 8 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper.
• On a flat surface, spread a thin layer of flour and roll the dough out to about 1/8 inch thick. Use a knife to cut the dough into rectangles about 1 inch long and 3/4 inch wide. Ideally, you want between 25 and 30 rectangles (you can also cut small rounds, squares or any other shape). Transfer the dough pieces to the lined sheet tray. Brush the dough with the egg wash and par-bake the dough until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
• For the filling: In a 10-inch heavy-bottomed saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. When the oil begins to smoke lightly, remove the pan from the heat and add half the strawberries. Return the pan to the heat and cook over high heat to allow some of the water to escape, for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer the berries to a large bowl and return the pan to the heat. Heat the remaining tablespoon olive oil and add the rest of the strawberries. Cook in the same manner for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to the bowl with the other cooked strawberries.
• In the pan, whisk together the jam, sugar, honey and molasses and simmer over medium-high heat so all the ingredients meld together, 2 to 3 minutes. Squeeze the lemon juice into a small bowl and add the zest, then whisk in the cornstarch until smooth. Stir the slurry into the jam mixture and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, stirring frequently, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour over the berries in the bowl and stir to coat.
• Transfer the berry mixture back to the pan. Arrange the pie dough rectangles directly on top of the filling in a circular pattern, each overlapping slightly, like shingles on a house. Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake until the pie crust shingles are golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. (If the pie shingles sink slightly, that's OK.) Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar if desired and serve.