Doesn’t everyone have a favorite summer fruit? For me, it’s the Santa Rosa plum. Watermelon is up there too, and I’ve been known to eat cold, firm cherries until I have a belly ache. Apricots, though? For me, not so much. Sure, I’ll occasionally get a really good one, but more often than not I’d rather reach for any of apricot’s stone fruit siblings. That is unless they’re done up like these brown sugar roasted apricots. The fruit enters a different league of delicious altogether — a “lick the spoon, run your finger along the baking dish, steal from your child’s bowl, wish there were seconds” kind of good.
Scrumptious, Simple Apricot Dessert
Here’s all that’s required for these roasted apricots: Arrange halved apricots in a baking dish, sprinkle on brown sugar, dot with butter, scatter pistachios over the top, and roast until the fruit begins to soften and ooze its juices. Crème fraîche sweetened with a swirl of honey closes the deal.
Roasted Apricots are Perfect for a Crowd
This is a terrific dessert to serve when you are expecting company, since you can easily double or triple the recipe. If you want to dress things up, add a plate of favorite cookies to serve alongside the apricots. And if crème fraîche isn’t your thing, you can serve this with Greek yogurt, a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt, or ice cream.
Good on the Grill, too!
Here’s more good news about this recipe, the apricots are terrific done on the grill. If you are cooking out (or just don’t feel like turning on your oven), you can wrap the apricots up in layers of aluminum foil and parchment and get them juicy and tender on the grill. If you cook them over a wood fire, you’ll get a particularly pleasing bump of flavor. Find the grilling instructions in the recipe headnote below (and head here for a video).
Make this for family supper (it’s easy enough) or for your next summer party (it’s fancy enough). Who knows? A few spoonfuls of this tender, tangy, cream-topped dessert may just move apricots into the number one slot for summer fruit favorite.
If you like Brown Sugar Roasted Apricots, you might like:
Raspberry Sorbet in the Food Processor
Wild Blueberry Coconut Yogurt Pops
Fro-yo or Ice Cream with Easy Hot Fudge Sauce
Wild Blueberry Tart with GF Crust
Tart Cherry Pie by Pamela Salzman
Brown Sugar Roasted Apricots with Creme Fraiche
This makes a very pretty and very easy summer dessert. Make a double batch and enjoy the leftovers for breakfast spooned onto yogurt, spread onto toast, or served alongside your favorite hot cereal. To cook this on an outdoor grill instead of the oven, arrange the apricots on a large piece of aluminum foil covered with a sheet of parchment. Proceed with the brown sugar and butter in the recipe. Cover with a second piece of foil and pinch the edges to make a large, tightly sealed pouch. Put on the grill over medium and cook until the apricots are very tender and juicy, 15 to 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 8 ripe apricots, split in half, pits discarded
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped pistachios or almonds
- 1/3 cup crème fraîche (or Greek yogurt, or a combo of the two)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
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Arrange apricot halves cut-side-up in a baking pan just large enough to accommodate them (8x8-inch or thereabouts).
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Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the apricots.
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Cut the butter into 16 tiny pieces and put one piece on top of each apricot half.
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Bake until the apricots soften enough so the tip of a knife slides right in, 30 to 35 minutes (time varies depending on size and ripeness of the fruit).
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Divide fruit onto dessert plates or small shallow bowls and serve warm with a spoonful of creme fraiche. Drizzle maple syrup/honey over the top.
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Scatter the pistachios over the top.