- Apricot Almond Tart with Sugar Cookie Crust
Ingredients:
Gluten-free Crust:
1 package Organic Sugar Cookie Mix from The Pure Pantry*
1/2 cup butter or butter alternative, such as Earth Balance, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup organic, non-hydrogenated shortening, such as Spectrum
1 egg
1 teaspoon cold water (or more if needed)
1 teaspoon almond extract
Dairy-free Pastry Cream Filling:
1/3 cup organic raw agave nectar, preferably Nature’s Agave brand
1 cup coconut milk (canned, not light)
6 large egg yolks, beaten
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons arrowroot
1 teaspoon almond extract
8-10 ripe apricots
tablespoons slivered almonds, lightly toasted , optional
Powdered sugar for dusting
*Available at Whole Foods, Sprout’s, and many other fine natural food stores. For store locations:
http://thepurepantry.com/store-locator/Instructions:
Prepare pie crust:
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Place sugar cookie mix, butter and shortening in large mixing bowl. Blend with pastry blender or fork until mixture is in pea sized bits. Add egg water and almond extract and blend with pastry blender until dough comes together. Using your hands, pat dough into a flat disk. Cover with waxed paper and place in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Remove pastry dough from refrigerator. Prepare a work surface by placing a large sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper down and lightly dust it with rice flour or corn starch. Dust rolling pin with rice flour or cornstarch as well. Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness.
Place pie plate or tart pan upside down on top of pastry dough. Lift parchment paper cup on sides and flip over so pie dough lands in pie place. Peel away parchment paper.
Trim edges of pie dough and reserve scraps for decorating pie or for making an extra little treat for the chef!
Poke holes in each pastry with a fork so surface has tiny holes throughout.
Decorate edges of pie crust, if desired, using small cookie cutters.
Bake pie crust for 13-15 minutes until golden brown.
Prepare pastry cream:
In a heavy bottomed sauce pan or double boiler, combine agave nectar, coconut milk, beaten egg yolks, melted coconut oil and salt. Whisk together over medium heat until bubbles begin to rise. Lower heat and continue whisking for about 1 minute.
In a small bowl whisk together two tablespoons of the hot egg/coconut milk mixture with arrowroot. Add almond extract and stir. Whisk arrowroot mixture into egg mixture over low heat and cook an additional 1-2 minutes until mixture begins to thicken. Set aside for 2-3 minutes. Place a piece of plastic wrap touching the top of pastry cream to prevent a film from forming. Place in refrigerator to cool.
Remove pie crust from oven and let cool completely. Fill with pastry cream.
Cut apricots into quarters, removing pits. Arrange apricot quarters on top of pastry cream in concentric circles. Top with toasted almond slivers and dust with powdered sugar.
In Fresh from Elizabeth’s Kitchen, author Elizabeth Kaplan utilizes her abundance of culinary education credentials and sincere care throughout her cookbook on each and every page to give us a variety of family-friendly gluten-free recipes. You can enjoy her well thought out personal recipes in a box form her own Gluten Free company, The Pure Pantry.
