[88] Apricot & Chocolate Cookies

The Complete Book of Cookies, edited by Deborah Grey

Once upon a time, a friend told me that if I ever wanted to hitch a ride with them to Costco, to see if I wanted a membership too, to just let her know. She spoke of the glories of bulk buying, and I was intrigued.

So, one day in late December, I decided to take her up on it. She said she wasn’t available that day, but her boyfriend would be, and I was welcome to ask him. She told me not to get my hopes up, though, as he hates the place with a passion. I figured I might as well try.

There was no rule, however, that I couldn’t stack the deck in my favor. So I sent him a couple of text messages inviting him to Costco:

“Hey, handsome! It’s Tasha. What are the chances I can convince you to escort Bill & I to Costco tomorrow during the day? It should be quieter in the day, I hope. I’ll bake cookies or bring jam, if you’d like.

His response:

Butter me up why don’t you? Cookies and it’s a deal. What time you thinking”

Needless to say, I had to figure out some cookies in a hurry. He explicitly requested “not oatmeal” cookies, so one major ingredient possibility was out. I turned to this cookbook for inspiration, and found these cookies. I’m glad I did too, because they were easy to make and tasty.h2. Ingredients

3/4 c butter
1/2 c packed light brown sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

Pinch of salt

1 tsp baking powder

2/3 c chopped no-soak dried apricots (Note: I’ve no idea what “no-soak” dried fruit is. I just used what I had.)

3/4 c semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used dark chocolate chips, as that’s what I had on hand. YUM.)

h2. Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F and grease two baking sheets (or line with parchment paper).

Beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and soft. Beat in the egg until fluffy. Sift the flour with the salt and baking powder into the butter mixture. Mix together until thoroughly blended. Beat in the apricots and chocolate chips.

Roll the dough into small balls & place them well apart on a baking sheet. Flatten with the prongs of a fork, and bake for 12 – 14 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet to a wire rack while still hot, and cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

h2. Cooking and Consumption Notes

h3. Cooking

This recipe sure seems violent, doesn’t it? Beatings everywhere! No good my friends, no good at all.

I took it a little easier. To me, “beat together” in a recipe implies some pretty vigorous stirring. While that’s basically great for bringing together butter and sugar, it’s not so good for mixing flour into wet mixtures for cookies. At that point, you want to mix the wet & dry ingredients thoroughly, but not so roughly or long that your cookies end up tough.

In a less stiff dough, the directions would say to “fold in the apricots…” rather than beating them in. Here, it’s just all about the mixing gently but thoroughly.

The cookies do not need as much space on the baking sheet as this recipe implies. They spread more than previous cookies from this book, but it’s still not a copious spread. A bit over an inch apart should be fine.

Make sure that you have a very thin turner/spatula to remove these from the cookie sheet. Since you are removing them before they cool even five minutes on the cookie sheet, they are difficult to get off and prone to breakage. My thin turner wasn’t clean, so I ended up dislodging them via “shoving” with my thick turner, and then pulling them off with my fingers. Molten chocolate? It sounds tasty, but it burns. Don’t do that.

h3. Consumption

These cookies are all about being a vehicle to transport chocolate & apricot bits from a plate to your mouth. They do this job admirably. You should reward them by eating many of them. Preferably while they are still warm, but not hot, from the oven.

Keep the cookies on the small side, too, I think. I did that, and it gave me a lot of small & satisfying cookies. Oddly, this didn’t mean I ate more of them, but that they lasted a bit longer than expected, given “my weakness for sweets.”:http://metacookbook.com/archives/182-87-Old-Fashioned-Fruit-Crumble.html Smaller is also better because there’s less “structural components” (aka: cookie) between you and the chocolatey, apricoty gooness.

My friend and her boyfriend also very much enjoyed these cookies, so it’s not just my inner cookie monster talking.

2 thoughts on “[88] Apricot & Chocolate Cookies

  1. Oh, I cannot WAIT to make these. Never thought to mix apricot and chocolate but now that you mention it, it sounds so, so right.

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