Martha Stewart Living (March 2009)
As the dozens of food trend stories and blog posts have informed us, cupcakes and frozen yogurt are all the rage right now, especially in our nation's capital, where both trends have caused a sudden flurry of store openings. People are lining up for these treats, and don't get us wrong, we're supportive of both trends.
But sometimes, we just need a cookie.
A good, old-fashioned, delicious cookie.
Our go-to cookie is oatmeal with chocolate chips. We don't have a specific recipe we rely on (if you have one, please share!), but when a mid-week cookie craving hits us, that's what we whip up.
So it was with great interest that we made these Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Apricots and White Chocolate.
Is this our new go-to cookie?
Though we love an oatmeal cookie, we were very uncertain about both the addition of white chocolate and dried fruit.
Sure, we eat oatmeal cookies with dark or semi-sweet chocolate all the time and love them. But dried fruit? And especially apricots?
The cookie recipe itself is very straightforward -- a basic recipe with the addition of the chocolate and fruit in the end. The finished cookies looked lovely, with bright bits of orange peaking out.
And the taste?
They make for a very good cookie. The sweetness of the chocolate is a nice balance to the bright and slightly tangy taste of the apricots. Combined with oatmeal, the whole package is a winning flavor combination.
Because we went ahead and made the full batch of cookies, we gave a lot of them to friends. Our friends said they enjoyed the cookies. But, like us, they weren't exactly raving about them.
If you love oatmeal raisin or oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, you'll find these to be a fun change of pace and you'll be glad that you tried them. But make them a second time? Doubtful.
Our search for a go-to cookie recipe continues...
Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Apricots and White Chocolate
Martha Stewart Living (March 2009)
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(This Photo: Martha Stewart Living)
Makes about 4 dozen
Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
* 1/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 2 large eggs
* 8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
* 7 ounces dried apricots, preferably California, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, oatmeal, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Cream butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add salt, vanilla, and eggs, and beat until well combined, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture gradually, beating until just combined. Stir in chocolate and apricots. Cover, and refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.
2. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are golden brown around the edges but still soft in the center, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 1 week.
