Almond and Dried Apricot Ice Cream Cake

Almonds and apricots are such complimentary flavors, they just seem to go hand-in-hand, and this ice cream cake is no exception. 

A crunchy, almondy crust of ground-up amaretti cookies holds vanilla ice cream layered with honey-simmered apricots—on the bottom, a puree in the middle, and more puree swirled over the top

1 3/4 cups #farmfreshnuts Semi Dried Apricots

 3/4 cup honey

 2 qts. vanilla ice cream, divided

 Cookie Crust, using amaretti cookies* and an 8-in. cheesecake pan with removable sides

 1 cup farmfreshnuts Dry Roasted Sliced Almonds Unsalted

Directions

Simmer apricots with 1 1/2 cups water and the honey, covered, until apricots are very soft, 15 minutes; let cool. Take 1 qt. ice cream out of freezer to soften.

Arrange 1 cup apricots over cooled cookie crust. Whirl remaining apricots and liquid in a blender into a thick, pourable purée (add more water if needed). Strain.

Stir softened ice cream until smooth. Spread over apricots in crust, set on a plate, and freeze until firm, about 1 hour. Spoon on all but 2 tbsp. apricot purée. Freeze until purée firms, about 1 1/2 hours.

Let remaining 1 qt. ice cream soften; spread over purée. Top ice cream with small dollops of remaining purée, then swirl with a chopstick. Freeze 2 hours more.

Remove sides of pan and pat almonds firmly into sides of pie. Serve immediately.

*Get super-flavorful dried Blenheim apricots by mail from brfarms.com Find crunchy, very almondy Italian amaretti in well-stocked grocery stores. Or use almond biscotti instead and whirl in 1 tsp. almond extract with the melted butter.

More pie tips:

Let the pie soften for 5 minutes at room temp to make slicing easier.

If you’re having trouble freeing your pie from its pan, set it over a bowl of hot water for a couple of minutes and then slide a thin knife between the pan edge and the crust. It should pop right out.

Make ahead: Once the pie is fully frozen through step 4, it keeps for up to 4 days, double-wrapped in plastic wrap. Top with almonds just before serving.

Amaretti Cookies

These traditional Italian cookies are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Made with Amaretto and almond flour, these simple cookies are a perfect treat anytime of the year.

Ingredients

2 ½ cups #farmfreshnuts almond flour

1 cup sugar

2 large egg whites

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 tablespoon amaretto liqueur

½ teaspoon almond extract

¼ cup powdered sugar (for rolling)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour and sugar; set aside.

almond flour and sugar whisked together in a glass bowl.

In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, whisk the eggs whites and cream of tartar until they hold soft peaks. Whisk in the amaretto and almond extract to just combine.

Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture and use a spoon to stir until all ingredients are combined and a dough forms.

Place the powdered sugar in a small bowl. Use a small cookie scoop to scoop out 1 inch balls of the dough. Use your hands to roll the dough into a ball shape. Then roll the ball in powdered sugar just to coat. Place the cookie on the baking sheet leaving about an inch and a half between each cookie.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the bottom of the cookies are lightly golden and the tops of the cookies start to crack. Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet before moving to wire rack to cool completely.