The Gluten-Free Homemaker

This month, Lauren of Celiac Teen is hosting Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free.  Her theme is Follow the Calendar, which gives you lots of choices.  When I looked over this list of January Food Holidays, and saw that January 9th was National Apricot Day, I knew I had to make an apricot recipe.  You see, I had a bag of dried apricots in my pantry that I had been meaning to use for several months, but it just hadn’t happened.  This was the motivation I needed.


I did a little recipe searching and decided to modify this very simple recipe for Apricot Balls.  The biggest challenge was making it dairy free since the recipe calls for sweetened condensed milk.  I figured all that was really needed was something sweet, thick, and sticky, and so I decided on honey.  I also added a little bit of pecans to the balls and chose to roll the balls in pecans.  I like the flavor and protein they add.  I used sweetened coconut for this, but you could use unsweetened.  You might want to taste test and consider adding a little sweetener of choice because the apricots can be a bit tart.

The apricots are definitely the strongest flavor in these slightly sweet treats.  One small ball packs plenty of flavor and chew which means that eating only one or two is satisfying. I like that.

A food processor is the best choice for making these.  If you don’t have one, you could try other methods, but I’m not sure how well they will work.

I haven’t tried this recipe with other dried fruit, but I bet it would be good.  It might be fun to try different fruit and nut flavors.  What do you think?

Nutty Apricot Balls

• 8 oz. dried apricots (unsweetened)
• 1 c. sweetened flaked coconut
• 1/4 c. + 1/3 c. pecan halves
• 1/4 c. honey

Start by processing the 1/3 cup pecan halves in your food processor.  The balls will be rolled in these, so they need to be very finely ground, almost like a meal.  Remove to a small bowl.


Place the dried apricots, coconut, and 1/4 cup pecan halves in the food processor.  Process until finely chopped and combined well.  Add the honey and process until it is evenly distributed.  Place the mixture in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate about 30 – 60 minutes until chilled through. 


Use a spoon to scoop up a small amount of the mixture.  Press it together with your hands and form a small ball 1 – 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  Roll the ball in the finely ground nuts.  Place on a serving plate or in a container.  Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

View Printable Recipe

This post is linked to the following food carnivals.  The recipes you will find there are not necessarily gluten free, but many of them are or can be easily adapted.

• Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays
• Tasty Tuesday

Labels: dessert recipes, fruit desserts, Go Ahead Honey