Living at a higher altitude does have its drawbacks. I won't go into how cold and crappy our winters can be but I will complain that we rarely get a good year for apricots and cherries. Well last year we had a stroke of luck and the apricot buds never froze. Once August rolled around trees branches around town were snapping under the weight of lovely. blushing apricots. Of course I totally took advantage of this and collected them like a crazed lady. After washing and pitting them I threw them in my food processor and froze the puree. Now I can pull out a bag whenever I am running low and make a new supply of apricot freezer jam. Yay!!

The real reason I love apricots comes in two parts. Obviously me along with everyone else loves apricot freezer jam. But did you know that- here's the best part- you get almond extract from the bitter "almond" inside the pit? Simply amazing and simply delicious when used in baking. Amazingly, the inner almond has a much stronger and sweeter almond-y flavor than the almonds we normally buy and eat! Enticed? Here's a how-to:

Apricot-Almond Extract

15-20 apricot pits

2 cups cheap vodka

Using a towel and working outside, nestle the unsuspecting almond pits inside a folded towel. Using a hammer or rubber mallet, lightly begin tapping/hammering the towel to break up the pits. This is messy and pieces of the pits will go everywhere. Which is doing this outside or using a towel helps minimize a mess.

Pick out the tiny almond pieces (most of them may have been pretty crushed by now) and break the ones that haven't in half or into pieces. Place all of the bitter almonds in a pint-sized mason jar and fill with vodka. Give it a good shake and continue to do that daily or weekly, whatever your remember to do.

Store in a cool, dark place like a cabinet. Should be ready to use in 4-6 weeks.

Ps. Enlist cute helpers.