Place the 20 large Blenheim apricot halves in a 2-quart saucepan along with the cinnamon stick, the vanilla bean cut into pieces, cloves, and cardamom pods, split open. Add the Viognier white wine and put the heat on simmer. This allows the apricots to slowly re-hydrate.

Once the fruit begins to plump up, turn off the heat and allow the apricots to sit for several hours or overnight. Remove the apricots from the remaining liquid with a slotted spoon, saving the leftover liquid. Place the apricots on a serving dish.

Add about 1/2 cup of pomegranate molasses to whatever liquid is left in the saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer, stirring well. Taste and add more molasses if needed. If you have no liquid left, you can either warm the pomegranate molasses or use it straight from the bottle.

For 20 apricots you will need approximately half of a container of Mascarpone cheese. You can also use cream cheese blended with a few tablespoons of cream so that it is very creamy.

Blend pomegranate molasses to taste, along with about 1/2 teaspoon Rain’s Choice vanilla extract, into the Mascarpone. Go light on the sweetening, as you will finish the dessert with the syrup on the stove.

Stuff each apricot with a hefty teaspoonful of the cheese mixture.

Sprinkle the pistachios over the apricots, allowing some to spill onto the serving plate.

Top the stuffed apricots with the syrup from the saucepan. Serve immediately. You can make all the components ahead of time, stuff the apricots, cover and refrigerate. Add the pistachios and syrup just before serving.