Why You Should Be Baking With Apricots

Apricots are one of those fruits that taste just okay raw, but transform when cooked (unlike, ahem, strawberries). They often sit in the shadow of peaches, but there’s no use in comparing the two. While fresh, ripe peaches can be enjoyed right over the sink, raw apricots are rarely juicy and only subtly flavored.

When cooked, however, apricots turn from shy, somewhat bland orbs into luscious bits of sweet-tart, jammy goodness. They soften without getting too watery. They give up their pits with barely any effort, and you don’t even need to peel them. Add a little sugar, and you have a surprising hero of summer bakes. 

How to use apricots in desserts and more

Love a peach pie or tart? Switch up your filling by pre-cooking some apricots with sugar, cornstarch, and a splash of lemon juice. Or experiment with different flavor combinations — apricots pair well with heady vanilla beans, a dash of pungent rosemary, or a sprig of lemon verbena. They also harmonize with anything almond, a member of the same genus. Marry them with sweet Rainier cherries for a casual galette, or turn them into an apricot-rosemary crostata or amaretto-spiked apricot-frangipane tart. 

Last but not least, make homemade apricot butter or apricot jam — the pinnacle of all stone-fruit preserves. Leave it simple and gorgeous, or gild it with a sprig of lemon verbena or the seeds of a fat vanilla bean. Then, slather the jam on toast, smear it on a torn baguette, or employ it as the filling for an iconic chocolate Sacher Torte. 

Apricots dance with savory ingredients, too. Grill or roast apricots with pork or chicken, and consider adding some chopped apricots to turkey meatballs.

Fresh vs. dried apricots

Fresh apricots have a painfully short season. These tender golf ball-sized drupes don’t ship well, as the ripest and best specimens bruise easily, so you should take advantage of them when you see them.

Thankfully, they freeze and dehydrate beautifully. If you’re lucky to live somewhere that grows apricots, buy them in bulk, wash them, pit them, and quarter them. Lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet and put them in the freezer. Once frozen, take the apricot pieces off the parchment, place them in an airtight container, and pop it back into the freezer. Your future self will thank you — you can use these frozen apricots in most of the same ways that you’d use fresh ones.

Dried apricots also come in handy, whatever the application. Search out dried Blenheim apricots from California — these have an ample tangy-sweet flavor compared to other dried apricots, which tend to be blandly sweet. You can rehydrate them by covering with boiling water and allowing to steep for 10 to 15 minutes, then straining and discarding the water. Use the rehydrated apricots in a jam or cake filling. Or chop them and add them to some oatmeal-apricot cookies, corn muffins, scones, or granola.

Save the peaches for eating over the sink — and start baking with more apricots.