Description
With their sweet meltingly soft apricot paste and crunchy fragrant pistachio coating, apricot balls make for the perfect teatime treat! This recipe only requires a handful of ingredients and you don’t even need to wait for apricots to be in season to try these Turkish confections.
Ingredients
Scale
- 250g semi-dried apricots (still soft) (1 ⅓ cup)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp honey or golden syrup (optional, only if needed)
- 1 tbsp caster sugar (optional, if your apricots aren’t sweet enough)
- 50g pistachios (⅓ cup), whole and unsalted
Instructions
- Place the apricots and cinnamon in a food processor. Process until the apricots turn into a smooth paste, about 2 min, taking breaks to scrape the edges of the processor. If you use a small food processor like mine, do it in 2 batches.
- Make sure that the mixture can be pressed into balls by pressing the paste with a finger. If the paste ‘doesn’t come together’ add the honey or golden syrup and process again. If it’s still too dry add more honey, 1 tsp at a time, until you get the right texture.
- Put the paste on a plate and press it down with the back of a spoon or a spatula until it’s around 2cm (¾ in) thick. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1h30 or until firmer.
- Remove the apricot paste from the freezer. With slightly wet hands, form balls out of it (1 tbsp of paste per ball), about 3 cm (1 ⅕ in) in diameter. You might need to wash your hands from time to time as they will get sticky.
- Place the apricot balls on a baking tray lined with oiled parchment paper and place the tray in the freezer for 1h30 or until the apricot balls are firmer.
- Roughly chop the pistachios and place them in a small plate. Roll each ball in pistachios, place in an airtight container and refrigerate.
Notes
The apricot balls will keep for up to 10 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ball
- Calories: 167
- Fat: 4.5g
Keywords: turkish dessert, pistachio recipes, apricot bliss balls, dried apricots recipes