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Well I just couldn’t stay away for too long! When something monumentous happens in your life, you do a lot more cooking and eating during your celebrations! So I give you this wonderful little treat to check out while I am making my rounds to all of your beautiful blogs! Thank you so much to everyone for your support and well-wishes! We could not be happier over here! :)
A while back I saw a delicious recipe for Pistachio Stuffed Nectarines that Susan at The Well-Seasoned Cook
did. Roberto loves both nectarines and pistachios, so I knew I had to make this recipe, but it got a Leftover Queen Makeover! I didn’t have any cake hanging around so I substituted Ricotta cheese for it. I also had cottage cheese,which I am sure would work fine, but the ricotta cheese was older so I opted for that. I don’t really like orange extract so I chose vanilla instead. So good, I was all set. I started the process of halving the nectarines and wouldn’t you know it the pits just wouldn’t budge. So I ended up destroying 2 out of 3 nectarines in the process. Okay, time for Plan B (or are we on Plan C or D at this point…??). I had several fresh apricots in the fridge which were nice and ripe. So I grabbed them and the pits came out with no effort. So this is how Susan’s recipe got adapted …kinda like a game of telephone….So here is my creation –
Pistachio and Ricotta Stuffed Apricots!

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INGREDIENTS:

4 ripe apricots, cut in half, stones removed
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1/8 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ + 1 TBS cup chopped unsalted pistachio nuts
1/4 cup ricotta or cottage cheese

METHOD:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
Place apricot halves in a baking dish, cut side up. In a mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar until fluffy. Beat in egg yolk, then fold in remaining ingredients. Divide mixture evenly among apricot halves, lightly mounding it into center of each with a small spoon.
Bake on center rack of oven for 30 minutes or until apricots are plumped and juicy, and the stuffing is browned. Serve immediately. Can be topped with fresh whipped cream.

Serves 4