Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Cookie Days


Up to now I've really only made a few cookies for Christmas. I've been making candy to give as gifts, and to nibble on, but for the most part the cookies have waited. I'm a bit of a freshness nut, so I like to make my cookies as close to putting them on the platter as possible. Then this past Saturday I went to a cookie making party and the cookie bug bit. Big time. So since most of the candy has been made and given away, it's time to focus on the cookies.

Yesterday I managed to make three varieties of cookie before my son insisted I call it quits and spend some time with him. I made my favorite Choco-Marshmallow Cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, and a new drop cookie, White Chocolate Apricot Cookies. I had never made the peanut butter blossoms before, but they turned out really well. You can head over to Kids Cuisine for the recipe for those this morning. The White Chocolate Apricot cookies I'm still on the fence about. I do like them- the flavor is excellent, but I'm just not sure they're Christmas Cookie worthy. As they sit they develop more flavor, and I really like the combination of white chocolate, apricots, and pecans in a caramel flavored cookie dough, but they just don't scream something special to me. But they are definitely good enough to repeat and be an everyday cookie.

Today I hope to make my Greek Honey-Nut Wedges, a Chocolate-Cherry cookie if I have enough cherries, and then maybe, just maybe, I'll get myself worked up enough to work on my truffles. I'm still on the fence as to whether or not I want to do them this year, but I figure at least one batch should go on the books for the year.


White Chocolate-Apricot Cookies

1 cup butter -- at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar -- packed
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup dried apricots -- chopped
3/4 cup white chocolate
3/4 cup pecans -- chopped

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Cream the butter and brown sugar in a medium-size mixing bowl until smoothly blended.

Beat in the egg and vanilla.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring the mixture into a smooth dough.

Add the apricots and white chocolate, stirring until the pieces are thoroughly dispersed.

Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets, spacing 2 inches apart.

Bake for 10 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned.

Let the cookies set on the sheet for 1 to 2 minutes before transferring them with a spatula to wire racks to cool.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Those apricot ones sound interesting. I've got some apricots left over from my Christmas baking...maybe I'll try these some time soon and we can compare our opinions!

Erika W. said...

They are really good- I was thinking that if you used a good dark chocolate instead of the white, and swapped out the ap flour for some white whole wheat (or maybe oat flour)they could be considered an almost-healthy cookie. ;-)

JEP said...

Mmmm...the choc marshmallow cookies sound like one I'll try soon !

Erika W. said...

The choco-marshmallows are a must here. They're my favorite, they're my mom's favorite, and the recipe came from her mom from long ago. It's just not Christmas without them.