Amaretto Cheese-Filled Apricots
I had these at a holiday party and thought they were excellent. You get lots of sweet flavor in one little bite!
I had these at a holiday party and thought they were excellent. You get lots of sweet flavor in one little bite!
- Carbohydrate 6.68274495648088 g
- Cholesterol 0.54431084352 mg
- Fat 1.16039503696876 g
- Fiber 0.87197400970459 g
- Protein 1.45520462790532 g
- Saturated Fat 0.113201208605337 g
- Serving Size 1 1 (17g)
- Sodium 32.7727843461537 mg
- Sugar 5.81077094677629 g
- Trans Fat 0.0904109026129976 g
- Calories 42 calories
Step-by-step
- Gently loosen a long side of each apricot, splitting apricots to resemble clamshells.
- In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, 1/4 cup almonds, cherries and amaretto until blended.
- Spoon 1-1/4 teaspoons filling into each apricot.
- Place remaining almonds in a small shallow dish; roll exposed cheese portions of apricots in nuts.
Rolling the exposed cheese filling in toasted almonds must happen immediately after stuffing, otherwise the soft dairy absorbs too much moisture from the dried fruit and fails to grip the nuts properly. Dried Mediterranean apricots offer a distinct pliant texture that withstands splitting without tearing completely, functioning effectively as edible clamshells.
Preparing this recipe for larger crowds requires careful proportioning because fat-free cream cheese lacks the stabilizing fats of standard dairy blocks. Doubling the batch works well when mixing the filling in a standard food processor equipped with a metal blade rather than relying on manual stirring, ensuring the chopped cherries and almonds distribute evenly throughout the base.
Substitutions demand attention to moisture levels when adapting the amaretto component. Using almond extract paired with orange juice requires reducing the liquid volume by half to prevent the cheese mixture from becoming too runny to hold its shape inside the fruit cavity. Storing the finished pieces in an airtight container lined with parchment paper preserves their structural integrity for up to twenty-four hours in the refrigerator before serving.
