Sunday, September 23, 2007

nutty apricot bundles

A few weeks back I bought phyllo dough not knowing exactly what I wanted to do with it. Jared was never a huge fan of baklava (although, I liked it) so I knew I wasn’t going to try to veganize a real baklava. Its hard for Jared to pin down what he didn't like about baklava, but I think it had something to so with the some times use of pistachios and rosewater. I still wanted a sweet treat and nuts and apricots came to mind with a buttery and crispy phyllo cover.
My concoction started with a simple syrup of water and turbinado sugar, a cinnamon stick and a couple of whole cloves. I added in a handful of dried apricots and rehydrated them in the spiced simple syrup. Once the syrup cooked down to about half and the apricots were soft, I removed the cinnamon sticks and cloves and added a bit of whipped Earth Balance. This created a sort of spicy, loose caramel sauce. Once the syrupy apricots cooled, I added the apricots and all the syrup to my food processor with a handful of walnuts, a handful of pecans and a pinch of salt. After grinding in the food processor, what resulted was an extremely thick paste. Next I melted a few tbsp of Earth Balance buttery stick and individually brushed each sheet of phyllo dough about four sheets high at a time. I cut the four stacked buttery sheets in strips and placed them in muffin tins to create a cup. I added the filling and folded over the laps of phyllo, brushed the tops with the left over melted Earth Balance and baked them (in a preheated oven) at 350 until brown and crispy. While these did kind of have a baklava taste and feel to them, Jared still gobbled them up, as did I.
Bundled and baked:
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Baked, cooled and cut open to see the filling:
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18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm usually not a phan of phyllo, uhm, fan of phyllo but your apricot bundles look so tasty that might just have to change.

Anonymous said...

oh wow, that looks lovely! what a fabulous idea...

Theresa said...

I don't like apricots, but if I pretend the filling is something else I want to eat them! They look really good!

Anna said...

Damn, those look good! I want! The apricot-nut combo sounds delish.

I've been wondering about veganising this phyllo almond roll recipe from Claudia Roden's book on Middle Eastern food...your post might just inspire me to follow through.

Anonymous said...

ooo, that looks FABULOUS!

Pink Theory said...

They do kinda look like baklava. I loves phyllo dough and apricots so I'm pretty sure I would love those treats...they look delectable!

Anonymous said...

... but I love baklava!

That looks good. I love phyllo in pretty much every way although I have sadly never made anything with it myself. It's so sad, but I'm scared I'll screw up and all the phyllo will dry out and break.

Maxcactus said...

I am not a big fan of phyllo either but these looked great.

Kumudha said...

I love baklava. Ever since I became a vegan, I can't buy it from supermakets because they are loaded with diary products.

I now have to make baklava, if I have to relish it!

Emilie said...

yum! I love apricots and that looks like a perfect phyllo dessert. Baklava can make me feel like I got hit upside the head with a sugar rush. The apricots seem more sedate, but equally delicious (if you like baklava, which I do...) thanks for the idea!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Oooh, they look SO good!

Judy said...

Not a huge fan of baklava?! How in the world does one manage that? I can't get enough of the stuff.

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

thanks for the comments everyone. these were pretty good. i think if i make them again, i will try to use less apricots. apricots have a very strong flavor.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

oooh, what gorgeous little apricot bundles!! I'm a bit intimidated by working with phyllo dough, since it's so delicate; so I envy your skills!! the bundles look scrumptious!

Vegan_Noodle said...

Sounds like quite the treat! Was the phyllo dough tough to work with? I've never tried it but am thinking I should....

Lori- the Pleasantly Plump Vegan said...

hey vegan noodle- the phyllo dough was a bit fragile and a little challenging, but still fun. you should try it out!

Doodleyboo said...

I keep on coming across recipes that scream at me to use phyllo. I think you've just pushed me over the edge :o) I must make these!

Dominick said...

These sweet apricots are really amazing. And I have already tasted this fruit. Also with this apricot, we can make lots of yummy dessert like baklava. One more thing we can add and that is pistachio. Baklava with pistachio is my most favorite dessert. And anyone can get this dessert from baklava online. And the quality is too good to say. Also, the price is very reasonable that you can't believe in your eyes.