Apricot Sorbet

Apricot Sorbet

POSTED ON JUNE 25, 2009 BY ANNIE

I’ve always liked dried apricots, but I’m not sure I’ve ever had fresh.  I think I may have tasted them once or twice when I was a little kid, but up until now I have never tried doing much with them.  Lately every time I walk into the grocery store I see a huge display of fresh apricots, and they are just beautiful.  Since this seems to be the season for them, I wanted to try them out.  I was originally thinking of a fruit tart, and while I still want to try that, this apricot sorbet was just calling to me.  It seemed like the perfect light dessert to serve after the lunch I made for Ben’s mom.  This was just bursting with fresh apricot flavor – so delicious!  I thought it would be a fun little touch to serve it in mini scoops, mimicking the shape of the apricots themselves, so I used my small cookie dough scoop which worked perfectly.  I think this makes the biggest batch of sorbet of any recipe I have tried so if you don’t think you want a lot, you should consider halving it.  I don’t think we’ll have any trouble polishing it off though! 

Apricot Sorbet
Ingredients:
2 lbs. squishy-ripe fresh apricots (about 10-15)
1 cup water
1 cups sugar
3 drops almond or vanilla extract

Directions:
Split the apricots in half, remove the pits, and cut each half into thirds.  Combine the apricot wedges and water in a medium nonreactive saucepan and cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  Heat until cooked through, about 10 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar.  Let the mixture cool to room temperature.

Once cool, puree the mixture in a food processor or blender until smooth.  Taste a spoonful and if there are any small fibers, press the puree through a mesh strainer.  Stir in the almond or vanilla extract.  Cover and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.

Freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Source: adapted from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz