Apricot Almond Twists(Pampered Chef) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup dried apricot, diced
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or use white)
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (plus a little more for sprinkling)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon water
2 (11 ounce) packages refrigerated French bread dough
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/3 cup sliced almonds
powdered sugar (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375*F.
Dice apricots. Place apricots, chocolate chips, cranberries, flour and almond extract in a bowl. Mix well. Add water and mix again.
Place bread dough, seam sides up, on a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, slice each loaf lengthwise, end to end, cutting halfway through to center of loaf; spread open flat. Lightly sprinkle additional flour evenly over dough.
Using a rolling pin, roll dough crosswise to a 4\" width, creating a well down the center of each loaf.
Spoon half of apricot mixture down the center of each loaf. Gather up the edges over filling, pinching firmly to seal.
Place loaves, seam sides down, in an X pattern on baking sheet(or baking stone). Crisscross ends of dough to form a large figure 8, keeping ends of dough 1\" from edge of pan and leaving two 1 1/2\" openings in center of twist.
Lightly brush egg white over dough using a pastry brush. Cut a 3\" slit in each of the top sections of the twist to reveal filling.
Sprinkle almonds evenly over dough, pressing gently.
Bake 30-32 minutes or until deep golden brown.
Remove from the oven. Cool 10 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, if you like. Cut into slices and serve warm. Enjoy!