Dried Apricots

This is probably more a technique than a recipe, but I thought I would still stick in on here in case anyone is curious. There has always been a fantastic apricot tree in the backyard of my Grandma's house and when we were kids there were always fresh apricots, canned apricots and oh, the dried apricots. There were many times back in the day that my brother, Pete, and our cousins Amy and Jim would make ourselves desperatley ill snarffing these sweet and chewy little bits. I always remember my grandma drying them out in the back yard in a fruit dryer. I, frankly, do not have the time or the patience for such a thing, so I used my oven.

I washed and pitted the apricots (no small feat considering that I have a 3 year old and a six month old) and placed them in a single layer, cut side up, on a lined cookie sheet. Then I stuck them in the oven on the lowest setting (200* in my oven) for a good 10 hours and ta-da the sweet chewiness I remember from my childhood. They worked out really well and are now hidden in my cupboard so I don't make myself sick. If my brother is lucky I just might share.