Apricot Peach Tartlets

Baked upside down, the apricot and peach filling gets rich and caramelized, while the puff pastry crust stays light and crunchy.

Apricots are one of my favorite fruits. I love to eat them fresh, dried, cooked with meats, on the barbecue, in sauces, in jams, and of course in desserts. So, when I saw them on sale for 98 cents a pound, I just had to buy a sack of them because as I told you many posts ago, Kerry chopped down our apricot trees that were dying of old age. I still mourn that loss each season when I look out at our empty field dotted with stumps.

I made some pineapple apricot jam, which turned out really scrummy, so while I was on a roll, making a dessert came next. I was going to make some apricot tarts, but noticed I had some leftover canned peaches in the fridge from the night before when I made a chicken dish that called for it. Not wanting it to go to waste, I thought it would be a good combination with the apricots. So, why not make Apricot Peach Tartlets? As you can see, they turned out pretty good and tasted delish.

I used regular dried apricots, because of its dense flavor and because they don’t turn to mush when you bake or cook with them. By regular, I mean not those whole Turkish dried apricots. There's a big difference in taste and texture. Also, using the canned peaches is the perfect way to rehydrate the apricots and add some rich flavor. Baking the tarts like an upside down cake also helps to keep the puff pastry crispy, and it makes the fruit caramelize and get all gooey and thick. 

Makes 10

• About 2 cups canned peaches, drained and chopped
• 4 T honey
• 1 cup rough chopped dried apricots
• ¼ tsp. cinnamon
• 4 T brown sugar
• 1 T butter
• 2 sections of one sheet of puff pastry
• about 2 T of chopped pecans

Combine everything in a pot and simmer about 10 to 15 minutes until thick. Butter or spray a regular size cupcake tin. Divide the fruit into 10 openings.

Puff pastry comes in a sheet that has 3 sections. You’ll only use 2 sections for this. Roll one section to a length that will give you 5 equal squares. Place each square on top of fruit, tucking the corners under.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden. Cool for 5 minutes, then loosen sides with a butter knife. Invert onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with pecans while still hot.