two 9-inch tarts or twelve 3-inch tarts
10 ounces finely chopped walnuts or almonds
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
3 cups flour
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
Preheat oven to 350.
Mix together all the ingredients until well blended, using an electric mixer or wooden spoon.
Divide the mixture in half and press into 9-inch buttered springform tart pans; or press into twelve 3-inch tartlet pans. Chill for 30 minutes before baking for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
I used almonds and I used vanilla extract. The extra crusts freeze really well.
FILLING
1 cup apricot preserves
1-1/2 cups almonds, toasted, cooled
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
18 (about) large apricots, halved, pitted
For filling:
Set rack at lowest position in the oven and preheat to 375 F. Place large sheet of foil on bottom of oven to catch any juices. Stir preserves in small sauce pan over low heat until melted; strain into another saucepan.
Finely grind almonds, 1 cup sugar and cinnamon in processor. Spoon over bottom of crusts. Arrange apricot halves, rounded side up, in crusts, fitting snugly together. Brush apricots in each tart with 2 tablespoons preserves. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over apricots in each tart.
Bake until apricots are tender, about 1 hour. Transfer to racks; cool 1 hour.
(note: when mine was baking, I wasn’t happy with the progress and thought my apricots weren’t juicy enough. So I squeezed an orange over them. So this was actually an apricot orange tart.)
Stir remaining preserves over low heat until warm; brush 1/4 cup over each tart.
(Tarts can be made 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)