Cooking With Rania: Holiday Cookie Bar
This week, Rania Harris is making her 499th appearance in the Pittsburgh Today Live kitchen. On this special occasion (and just in time for the holiday season), she making one of her classic recipes, an Apricot Nut Torte!
Apricot Nut Torte
Ingredients:
- 1 box dried apricots
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 cups chopped walnuts
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 sticks sweet butter
- 4 cups flour
- 1 small cake yeast
- 1/4 c. Warm water
- 1/4 c. Milk
- 4 egg yolks
Directions:
In a small pot, bring apricots, sugar and enough water to cover, to a boil. Simmer gently for 20 minutes - cool - process to a paste in work bowl of food processor, and set aside.
In a clean food processor work bowl fitted with the steel blade, process butter with flour until coarse meal forms.
Proof yeast with 1 tablespoon sugar, milk and water. Add to flour mixture with egg yolks. Process just until dough forms.
In a medium sized bowl, combine walnuts with sugar, cinnamon and enough milk to bring to a spread-like consistency.
Form 3 equal balls of dough. Roll out 1 to cover bottom of 17" x 12" pan. Spread with nut mixture. Roll out second ball of dough and cover nut layer. Spread apricot filling over second layer of dough. Roll out third layer of dough and cover apricot layer. Cover with towel and let rise 1 hour.
Bake in 350 degree oven for 40 minutes. Cool on rack. Cut into bars and dust with powdered sugar.
Yield: 48 bars
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