Recipe - Apricot Fritters

12 small Apricots; =OR=
6 lg Apricots, halved
12 Whole almonds
2 tablespoon White rum
One half cup Unbleached allpurpose flour
One half cup Cornstarch
3 tablespoon Sugar
One half teaspoon Salt
One half teaspoon Cinnamon
One half teaspoon Baking powder
One half cup Water; plus
1 tablespoon Water
3 tablespoon Melted butter
1 One half qt Vegetable oil; for frying
Confectioners' sugar

RINSE THE APRICOTS, slit the sides and remove the pits with a small spoon,
leaving the apricots intact. Replace each pit with an almond. Place the
apricots in a bowl and sprinkle the slit sides with the rum. For the
batter, combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk in the water, then
the melted butter. Pour the oil into a 4quart pan and heat it to 350F.
With a fork, dip the apricots into the batter and add to the hot oil 3 or 4
at a time, frying them about 6 or 7 minutes, until the batter is a deep
golden and the apricots are cooked, but still firm. Drain the fritters on
absorbent paper as they are fried and keep them warm in a 300F oven. To
serve, sprinkle the fritters generously with confectioners' sugar.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini