Grown-Up Apricot Newtons
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling dough
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks, at room temperature
- 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped, pod reserved
- 6 ounces dried apricots, coarsely chopped
- 1/3 cup golden raisins
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped pistachios
- Put a baking rack in the lower third of the oven.
- Put a pizza stone on the rack.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- For the base: Whisk the flour with the baking powder, cardamom and salt in a medium bowl.
- Beat the butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- With the mixer running, slowly drizzle in the egg and beat until combined.
- It's ok if it looks a bit curdled.
- It will come back together with the addition of the flour.
- With the mixer on low, beat in the flour mixture until just combined.
- Pat out two-thirds (about 8 ounces) of the dough into a 6-by-3-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface.
- Wrap in plastic wrap and chill until firm, about 1 hour.
- Wrap the remaining chunk of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate.
- For the filling: Whisk 3/4 cup water with the honey and the vanilla bean seeds in a small saucepan.
- Add the vanilla bean pod, apricots and raisins and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
- Cover the saucepan, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the water is mostly absorbed, about 10 minutes.
- Cool the mixture, remove the vanilla bean pod and then pulse in a food processor to make a textured paste.
- Roll the chilled rectangle of dough on a lightly floured work surface into a 15-by-5-inch rectangle.
- Gently lift it into a 13-by-4-inch rectangular fluted tart pan with a removable bottom.
- If the dough cracks, just press it back together with the flats of your fingertips.
- At the short ends the dough will come up to the top of the pan, and on the long sides the dough will come about halfway up.
- Spread the apricot filling over the dough in an even layer.
- Crumble the reserved chilled dough over the top, squeezing it flat between your fingers as you do.
- It is ok if some of the filling shows through, but make sure the dough is actually touching the sides of the pan.
- Scatter the pistachios over top, pressing in lightly where they land on the uncovered filling.
- Bake on the preheated stone until the top is deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
- Cool completely on a rack, about 2 hours, before unmolding and slicing into 12 bars.
flour, baking powder, ground cardamom, salt, unsalted butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, egg, honey, vanilla bean, golden raisins, pistachios
Taken from www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/grown-up-apricot-newtons.html (may not work)