I’ll give it to you straight: These balls are not good. There are only 5 ingredients in this recipe but the flavour of the crystallised ginger is so overpowering that it obliterates all the other ingredients. If you want to make them I strongly recommend omitting the crystallised ginger! Then you’ll have apricot, condensed milk and pistachio balls in toasted coconut which I’m sure would be a much more edible version of the recipe.
Step by step recipe below and list of ingredients at the end of the post.
Pre-heat the oven to 160°C.
Place the desiccated coconut (recipe calls for 200g but I had lots leftover so I recommend using a smaller amount) in a baking dish and toast in oven until golden, stirring several times – about 8–10 minutes, depending on the thickness of your coconut. As you can see from the photo I did this on a frying pan instead of in the oven. Cool.
Pulse-blitz the dried apricots and crystallised ginger in a food processor until you get smallish pieces.
Add the condensed milk and the roughly chopped pistachios, briefly blitz – don’t overwork it.
Dampen your hands in cold water, then roll the paste into balls and toss in the toasted coconut, pressing it on to coat them.
Keep in the fridge, covered tightly, for up to two weeks.
Apricot, Ginger & Pistachio Balls in Toasted Coconut
From The Great New Zealand Baking Book, copyright © Peter Gordon
Makes: about 18 | Prep time: 20 mins | Skill level: 1 (easy)
Ingredients
- 200 g long-thread desiccated coconut
- 300 g dried apricots, halved
- 50 g crystallised ginger
- 150 g condensed milk
- 100 g pistachios, chopped roughly
[GF]
Method
Pre-heat oven to 160°C.
Place coconut in a baking dish and toast in oven until golden, stirring several times – about 8–10 minutes, depending on the thickness of your coconut. Cool.
Pulse-blitz apricots and ginger in a food processor until you get smallish pieces. Add condensed milk and briefly blitz – don’t overwork it.
Tip onto your bench and flatten out to ½ cm thick. Sprinkle pistachios over, then gently knead together until combined.
Dampen your hands in cold water, then roll the paste into balls and toss in the coconut, pressing it on to coat them. Keep in the fridge, covered tightly, for up to two weeks.
Published by Thom Productions/Blackwell & Ruth, $49.95
Where to buy the book:
The Great New Zealand Baking Book Project 
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