No-Bake French Apricot Cookies

Calissons are a traditional French candy consisting of a smooth, pale yellow, homogeneous paste of candied fruit (especially melons and oranges) and ground almonds topped with a thin layer of royal icing. Calissons have a texture not unlike that of marzipan, but with a fruitier, distinctly melon-like flavor. Calissons are often almond-shaped and are typically about two inches in length. Calissons are traditionally associated with the town of Aix-en-Provence, France; consequently, most of the world supply of calissons are still made in the Provence region.

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You will need:

Icing:
1 egg white
2 cups powdered sugar

Cookie:
½ cup dried apricots
2 cups almond flour
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon apricot jam
2 teaspoon water

  1. Whisk together the egg white and powdered sugar to make the icing. Cover and reserve for later.
  2. Pulse the apricots in a food processor until finely chopped.
  3. In a large bowl, combine the chopped apricots, almond flour, powdered sugar, and jam. Using your hands, mix the dough, adding water 1 teaspoon at a time until the dough comes together in ball, adding more teaspoons if necessary.
  4. Dust a work surface with powdered sugar and carefully roll out the dough to a ½” thick rectangle.
  5. Cut 1” thick strips and then cut each strip into 1½ rectangular pieces.
  6. With a paring knife, cut the edges off each piece to form a diamond.
  7. Using your fingers, press and smooth the sharp middle edge, forming an eyelid shape.
  8. Place your calisson on a wax paper lined baking sheet.
  9. Continue rerolling and cutting the scraps until you have shaped all the dough.
  10. Spread a dab of icing over each calisson and let stand to harden.

TIP:

You can throw together the dough days before and put your friends to work cutting and icing them the day of.



Calissons are a traditional French candy consisting of a smooth, pale yellow, homogeneous paste of candied fruit (especially melons and oranges) and ground almonds topped with a thin layer of royal icing.
Photography by Food Styling+Recipes by Chelsea Zimmer | Pr op Styling by Jill Galarneau | Photography by Linda Pugliese

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