Armenian Recipe: Apricot Tart

Apricots are a traditionally Armenian fruit. If you haven’t had apricots in Armenia, you haven’t tasted the sweet juiciness that apricots can be. What follows is a wonderful apricot tart, inspired by the Armenian fruit.
Ingredients
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2 cups canola or vegetable oil
5 1/2 cups flour *plus a little for the topping
1 tbsp. vanilla
30 oz apricot jam (prefer Cortas brand apricot jam, comes in a 30 oz can)
Instructions
Beat eggs with sugar until well combined. Add oil, vanilla, baking powder and flour and mix until all ingredients are combined. Don’t overwork the dough so you’ll have a delicate crust. Dough should be smooth, soft and fairly sticky. If too sticky, just add a little more flour and work it in by hand.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line the bottom of your half sheet pan with parchment paper or you could use a spray. Take 2/3 of the dough and press it into your sheet pan evenly. You can use a little flour or spray on your hand to prevent sticking.
Take the remaining 1/3 of the dough and work in a handful of flour to it. This will make the topping a little crispier then the bottom crust. Roll it into a little log and place it in the freezer for about 10-15 minutes. Spread your jam on to the dough in the pan.
Using a cheese grater, grate the firmed dough onto the jam using short strokes. Cover the entire pan as evenly as possible.
Bake for approx. 1 hour and 5 minutes until it has a nice golden pink color to it. Better to over bake it a little then to under bake it.
Once cooled, cut into squares or bars. Optional: using a small sieve, lightly dust with powder sugar. Voila …enjoy!
Notes and Modifications:
Instead of using apricot jam, you can also make your own apricot filling using fresh apricots, chopped up in bite size pieces. Toss with a dash of lemon juice, 1/4 cup sugar and a few tablespoons of honey.