Is it just me or is stone fruit one of the hardest types of fruit to shop for? I feel like every time I go to the store and pick out plums, peaches, or apricots they either end up being hard as rocks and sound like an apple when I eat them, sour, or the worst, mushy and mealy! Well on my last trip to the store I decided to take a chance on some apricots so I could make these Grilled Apricots with Almond Whipped Cream & Honey.
I used to buy a whole bag full of peaches or apricots, but I’ve since learned my lesson after having one too many bad ones and now I only buy a couple at a time. Last week when I was at the store I spied these apricots. I picked one up and amazingly it didn’t feel like a rock, it actually felt ripe. I was still skeptical though. I gave it a smell and again was surprised that it smelled like an apricot instead of the usual nothing. Ok, they were on sale so I decided to give them a shot. When I got home I cut the apricots in half and ate one, FINALLY an apricot that tasted like an apricot!
I was good to go, and got them ready for grilling. Since we are without a grill right now I was stuck using my grill pan, but it actually worked out perfect. While the grill pan was heating I melted a teaspoon of butter and then mixed in a teaspoon of honey. I brushed the melted honey butter on the cut side of the apricot halves. I then placed them face down on the grill pan and grilled them for about two minutes. The honey butter caramelized on the apricots and they had beautiful grill marks on them. Who doesn’t love those perfect grill marks?! I let the apricot halves cool for a minute while I made the almond whipped cream. As you know my love for almond flavoring runs deep. It is by far my favorite flavor, I seriously can’t get enough of it. I thought the almond flavoring would be perfect with the grilled apricots and honey butter. Once the whipped cream was ready I dolloped about a tablespoon of it on top of each apricot. I then finished them off with a sprinkling of toasted sliced almonds and a drizzle of honey.
Since apricots are so small, they are easily a two bite dessert and probably the best two bite dessert I’ve ever had! I loved the caramelized sweet honey butter melted into the sweet juicy apricot. I think I loved the almond whipped cream even more though. If you’ve never flavored your whipped cream with almond you must, it is absolutely wonderful! The combination of the slightly firm but juicy apricot, the light fluffy whipped cream, and the crunchy toasted almonds on top was so appealing. I’m pretty sure I ate four of the apricot halves and I probably could have eaten more. It was such a simple, light dessert, yet so satisfying. If you’ve never tried grilling fruit for a dessert I highly recommend starting with these Grilled Apricots with Almond Whipped Cream & Honey. I can’t wait to try this recipe again when we start getting some good peaches in the store!
