Cookies with Meringue and Dried Apricots
Description
The recipe won't take much time. Wash the dried apricots and rinse them a couple of times with boiling water. If the apricots don't soften, leave them for 10–15 minutes in hot water. Take two eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. 1 egg, 2 yolks, sugar and softened butter are beaten with a mixer. While continuously beating, add 1 cup of flour. Now add another 0.5 cup of flour and knead the dough by hand. Divide the dough into 2 parts. From each part roll out a thin sheet, on which using a cutter or a small cup cut out circles. Transfer the cookie blanks onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, greased with butter and dusted with flour. Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes until evenly browned. While the cookies bake, make the filling and the meringue. For the meringue, beat the egg whites into a stiff foam. While beating, gradually add sugar to the whites. Beat to soft peaks. Then add lemon juice and beat again to stiff peaks. Grind the nuts in a coffee grinder. Gently fold the nuts into the meringue and pipe it into a pastry bag. Remove the cookies from the oven, lower the temperature to 120 °C. Spread a layer of meringue on each cookie. Cut the apricots into quarters and place them in the center of each cookie. Put the cookies back in the oven for another half hour – until the meringue is set. The baking is ready. Serve at the table.