Rustic Nectarine and Blackberry Tart

Remember all those nectarines I got in my produce basket this week? Well, it seemed only natural that I should make some kind of baked dessert with them. (And quickly, as my children are happily consuming about five a day.)

This is what I came up with: a nectarine/blackberry tart. And it was sooo good. I thought, anyway.

Ingredients:

1 9-inch pie crust (I made a whole-wheat one just for fun. I mass produce pie crusts and keep them in my freezer so I always have one ready when it's time to make another pie/tart)

2 1/2 C sliced nectarines (this was about 5 small ones)

1/2 C blackberries (I used frozen, thawed)

1 vanilla bean

1/4 C flour

1/4 C brown sugar

2 T + 1 T sugar

1 T butter

1 large egg yolk, for brushing

1 T water, for brushing

Slice your nectarines into quarter-inch sizes.

Add the nectarines and blackberries to a large bowl. Scrape out the vanilla pod with a sharp knife and add the vanilla seeds to the bowl. Mix them well.

Add the flour, brown sugar, and 2 T of sugar. Mix well. Let sit for fifteen minutes.

Meanwhile, set your pie crust on the counter to soften ten minutes before rolling out.

Roll your pie crust out to a 12-inch circle. Carefully move it to your baking pan. It's all right if the edges hang over; you're going to fold them inward in a moment. Pile your fruit mixture in the middle of the pie crust. Dot with butter. Bring the ends of the crust toward the middle. They won't close over the fruit, but that's okay. There should be about a 3 or 4-inch opening.

Whisk together the egg yolk and water. Brush it over the top of the crust. Sprinkle the last tablespoon of sugar over the crust as well. 

Bake at 425 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until browned (for me, this only took 30 minutes).

Let the tart cool 15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Tastefully,

Tamara

Baked apricot and cream cheese

This was yet another dessert to make use of the plethora of apricots from my produce basket. I loved this one and the kids gobbled it up. 

ingredients:

1 1/4 lb. apricots, halved and pitted (weight before removing the pit)

1/2 C sugar

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 oz. crushed cookies (I used graham crackers)

Put the apricots in a pot with the sugar. Add 2 tablespoons of water and heat until simmering. Cover and cook ten minutes. 

Drain the apricots, reserving the syrup. Put the apricots in an oven-proof dish. Measure out 6 tablespoons of the syrup and pour the rest over the apicots.

Beat the cream cheese until soft, and then gradually add the reserved syrup until smooth. Spoon the cream cheese mixture over the apricots. Sprinkle the cookie crumbs over the top.

Bake in a 400 degree F oven for  10 minutes until the crumbs begin to darken and the filling has warmed. Serve immediately. 

Enjoy!

Tastefully,

Tamara 

Tart Apricot crisp

While I love food and will happily eat just about anything, my true weakness lies in baked goods. Cakes, brownies, bread, pies... these things I can't resist.

So when I came home with several pounds of apricots, I couldn't wait to try a variety of desserts with them. I let my children have free reign on the apricots until they'd consumed about half of them, and then I hid the rest in the fridge. Luckily, I still had enough to make this crisp.

You need:

(for the filling)

2 1/2 pounds of apricots (weigh them first, and then remove the pit and slice them)

3/4 C sugar

1/2 C instant tapioca

(for the crust)

1 C oatmeal 

1/2 C flour

1/2 C brown sugar 

1/2 t salt

1 stick of chilled butter

3/4 C nut pieces

Here I am weighing my apricots.

After you slice the apricots, throw them in a large bowl. Add the sugar and tapioca, then stir to mix. Let it sit for 15 minutes, or about the time it takes for you to prepare the topping.

Combine the oats, flour, salt, and brown sugar. A note on the brown sugar: I adore dark brown sugar. Even when a recipe calls for golden, I use dark. I just love the stronger molasses flavor. But that's a judgment call. Do you what you prefer.

Cut your butter into pieces and blend with a pastry cutter, two knives, or a food processor, if you have one you don't mind getting dirty. Add in the nuts. I used pecans, because again, I love them and always have them on hand. Hazelnuts or walnuts would work equally good here.

After fifteen minutes, your apricots will look like this. Yum.

Set the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 pan and spread the apricots inside. 

Sprinkle on the topping.

Bake at 400 degrees for thirty minutes, then lower the temperature to 350. Bake for fifteen more minutes or until bubbly. Let cool 20 minutes before serving.

Since the apricots are rather tart, I thought the dessert begged for vanilla ice-cream. We happened to have some, so that's how we served it. The kids simply loved this.

Enjoy!

Tastefully,

Tamara