Baked Almond-Stuffed Peaches

Turn fresh peaches into a fabulous warm dessert by stuffing them with dried apricots, toasted almonds, and crushed amaretti cookie crumbs.

Try a variation featuring apples and stuffing them with a cinnamon macaroon filling. The fruit can be served with low-fat sour cream or vanilla ice cream.

Preparation time 30 minutes
Cooking time about 35 minutes

You Will Need
5 large peaches, ripe but firm
10 dried apricot halves, finely chopped
6 packaged amaretti cookies, crumbled
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 tablespoon brandy
1 large egg white
1/3 cup chopped, blanched almonds
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

To serve (optional)
Low-fat sour cream or vanilla ice cream

What to Do
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Half-fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Cut 4 of the peaches in half (do not peel) and remove the pits. Slide the peaches into the boiling water and cook just until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain. Place the peaches cut side up in a shallow baking dish.

2. To make the filling, peel, pit, and finely chop the remaining peach and place in a medium bowl. Add the dried apricots, amaretti crumbs, almond extract, brandy, and egg white. Stir until thoroughly mixed.

3. Heat a small skillet over high heat for 1 minute, add the almonds, then turn and toss them until golden and lightly toasted. Add the almonds to the fruit mixture and toss.

4. Spoon the filling into the cavities of each peach half, heaping up the filling and pressing it together gently. Sprinkle with the brown sugar. Cover the baking dish with foil.

5. Bake the peaches until tender, about 25 minutes. Remove the foil, increase the oven temperature to 400°F, and bake until the topping is golden brown, 5 minutes more. Serve warm with a scoop of low-fat sour cream or ice cream, if desired.

Some More Ideas
Baked raisin-stuffed apples: Instead of the peaches, substitute 5 large red-skinned baking apples (about 2 1/2 pounds), such as Cortland, Jonathan, or Rome Beauty. Cut 4 of the apples in half (do not peel) and core. Instead of the amaretti filling, use the remaining peeled, cored, chopped apple, 1 cup coconut macaroon crumbs, 1/2 cup golden raisins, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 tablespoon light rum, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1 large egg white.

Baked cherry-stuffed pears: Substitute 5 large ripe pears for the peaches and 3/4 cup dried cherries for the apricots.

Baked cranberry-stuffed nectarines: Use 5 large ripe nectarines for the peaches and 3/4 cup dried cranberries for the apricots. Use 1/3 cup chopped pistachios in place of the almonds.

Plus Points

• Dried apricots are a good source of potassium, which is needed to maintain normal blood pressure.
• Amaretti cookies are a type of macaroon made with whipped egg whites and almond paste. Because they are made with a meringue, they are lower in fat than many other cookies.

Serves 8 (half a peach each)

Nutritional Information
Each serving provides calories 174, calories from fat 48, fat 5g, saturated fat 1g, cholesterol 4mg, sodium 56mg, carbohydrate 30g, fiber 3g, sugars 21g, protein 3g. Good source of riboflavin, vitamin A, vitamin C.

Exchanges: carbohydrate 2, fat 1/2

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