Apricot Almond Cookies

These cookies are so fabulous - sweet, chewy, chunky, but not too many flavors. They have become one of my friend Shanna's regulars, and you know it takes a lot to become a regular, in anyone's kitchen, and especially Shanna's. When you need something that's not too heavy, not too rich, but still sweet and satisfying, this is it!
Apricot-Nut Cookies with Almond Icing
Cookies:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
-OR- for chunkier cookies, use chopped almonds instead of sliced and pine nuts

Icing:
1 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
5 to 7 tablespoons almond flavored liqueur OR a little water and almond extract, to achieve spreading consistency

1. For the Cookies: In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg. Stir in the flour until just blended. Mix in the apricots, almonds, and pine nuts.

2. Transfer the dough to a sheet of plastic wrap and shape into a log, about 12-inches long and 1 1/2-inches in diameter. Wrap the dough in the plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 heavy baking sheets with parchment paper.

4. Cut the dough log crosswise into 1/4 to 1/2 inch-thick slices. Transfer the cookies to the prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly apart. Bake until the cookies are golden around the edges, about 15 minutes*. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.*The longer they cook, the crunchier they will be. Slightly undercook for a soft, chewy cookie.

5. For the Icing: Place the confectioners' sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Gradually whisk in the almond flavor (and water, if using) until the mixture is of drizzling consistency.

6. Place the wire rack over a baking sheet. Using a spoon or fork, drizzle the cookies with the icing, allowing any excess icing to drip onto the baking sheet. Allow the icing to set before serving, about 30 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentiis, 2008

Cookies made by Shanna S.
Click here for printable recipe

Apricot Baklava (by Maren)

Having lived in Turkey, I tweaked this Moosewood Restaurant recipe to include pistachios along with the almonds because there's nothing more Turkish than apricots and pistachios. I also changed the syrup from straight honey to a sugar/honey mix.

Apricot Baklava

2 cups dried apricots

2 cups apricot nectar or apple juice or water

4 eggs

3 cups almonds and/or walnuts, finely chopped

1/2 cup melted butter

18 sheets of phyllo dough (freezer section)

1/2 cup finely chopped pistachios

3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cups water

1/2 cup honey

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. Simmer apricots in liquid for about 30 minutes. Remove and let cool. Purée cooled, cooked apricots in food processor or blender, add eggs and purée a little more till well blended. This is your "custard."

2. Line a jelly roll pan with parchment and brush the parchment with butter. Lay down 2 sheets of phyllo and butter the top one. (Work quickly or cover the other sheets so they don't dry out.) Sprinkle with almonds/walnuts, repeat with phyllo, butter and nuts until you've used half the sheets. Spread the custard layer on with a knife. Continue to layer 2 phyllo, butter and nuts until you end with the top layer buttered and covered with pistachios. Using a sharp knife, score the pastry down a few layers (but not quite to the custard) into the shape and size for serving- about 2 or 3 inches. Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, boil the water, sugar and honey for several minutes. remove from heat and add lemon. When baklava has cooled 20 minutes but is still warm, cut all the way through scoring. Drizzle syrup over pastry and down the scoring lines. Makes about 24-30 pieces.

Chocolate Almond-Apricot Cookies

I'm not gonna lie to you. We're back to cookies with more than a few steps. But these ones are gorgeous, interesting, delicious, and plenty chocolately for your trouble. And while they do have several steps and take a long time start-to-finish, they're not terribly complicated. Meaning, if you just follow the directions, they'll turn out great. Nothing too tricky. Besides, aren't you just a tiny bit curious what chocolate, almond, apricot and cardamom will do together to your tastebuds? It's worth finding out.

Chocolate Almond-Apricot Cookies
Makes about 6 dozen cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup coarsely grated semisweet chocolate (5 ounces - wow, prepare to get messy grating it!)
1/2 cup finely snipped dried apricots
1/3 cup almonds, ground (I used almond meal from Trader Joe's)
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces (9 ounces)
1 T butter
1/4 tsp almond extract

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the 1 cup butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and cardamom. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour, the grated chocolate, the apricots and almonds. Divide dough in half. If necessary, cover and chill dough about 30 minutes or until easy to handle.

2. Meanwhile, for filling, in a small saucepan heat and stir the 1 1/2 cups chocolate pieces and the1 T butter over low heat until smooth. Stir in almond extract. Set aside.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough into a 10-inch square. *Seriously, measure it and don't make it much bigger or else you will not have enough filling to cover the area. Spread half of the filling over square, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edges. (If filling becomes too thick to spread, add hot water, 1 tsp at a time, until filling is spreadable.) Roll up square. (If dough cracks, slightly, allow it to stand at room temperature for a few minutes.) Pinch to seal. Wrap roll in plastic wrap or waxed paper. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Chill about 4 hours or until firm. *To keep rolled dough from flattening on one side in the fridge, place in a glass, or in this case 2 glasses, on their sides:
4. Preheat oven to 375. Using a sharp knife, cut rolls into 1/4-inch slices. Place slices 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are light brown. Let stand for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
Recipe from Better Homes and Gardnes The Ultimate Cookie Book

Apricot Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

In Penzey's spice store, there are cardboard stands on top of the shelves, offering tear-off recipes using featured spices. They change the recipes about every month, and I love collecting my little stack every time I go.

Last time I went I found this little gem of a recipe for oatmeal cookies with NO RAISINS but such exotics as mace and, that's right, coriander. I do not dig raisins in very many things, including oatmeal cookies. But dried cranberries and dried apricots make a different case altogether.

This is by far my favorite oatmeal cookie; my new go-to. Awesome chewy texture, perfect flavors, though frankly next time I might double every spice - I like to really taste them!
Apricot Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground mace
1/2 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted
1/4 cup dried apricots, diced
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment or silpat.

2. Cream together sugars and butter. Add the egg and vanilla and mix well.

3. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking soda and spices. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture a bit at a time, mixing well after each addition.

4. Mix together the pecans, apricots and cranberries in the bowl that used to hold the flour. Alternate adding the oatmeal and fruit/nut mix to the batter, mixing well after each addition.

5. Form walnut-sized balls of dough and place on cookie sheets. Bake for about 12 minutes, keeping dough in refrigerator between batches. Let cool on tray; if you try to move them while still hot they will fall apart. Makes about 27 cookies

Bookstore Cafe Apricot Squares

When choosing recipes to try, I always have to weigh if they're worth the trouble. I'm not a fussy baker, and I'm not a perfectionist. I also have small children and, if I really want to face reality, other responsibilities in life, so I can't always spend all day and all my dishes on one recipe.

This one was borderline on the trouble front.

First, there are a few more steps than I'm accustomed to taking; for instance, all the food processing is a hassle for me because my processor is small so I had to do it in batches. But I thought it was worth trying because these squares just sounded so good!

Second, Red loves apricots so I knew he'd like these.

Third, I was kind of excited about trying the author's grating-frozen-dough technique for the topping.

Finally, it was a good excuse to finally get myself a powdered sugar shaker:

On the taste front, it was surprising. The crust/topping was not as sweet as I expected; hence, the powdered sugar plays a functional as well as decorative role. I liked them, but, you know, there's no chocolate, so... My tasters returned mixed reviews, some liked them, some didn't, but the best reaction came from my friend's husband whose mother is Austrian. We had dropped a plate by earlier in the week, and by Sunday I'd kind of forgotten. He sought me out at church to rave and exclaim how amazing they were. His wife said they're just like something his mother would make. It's hard to get a better recommendation than that!

Crust:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup ground walnuts, optional
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 T shortening
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 to 6 T whipping cream

Filling:
3/4 cup orange juice
2 T fresh lemon juice
4 cups dried apricots (preferably Californian)
1/3 cup sugar

Finishing:
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

1. For crust, place flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nuts in a food processor. Add butter and shortening and pulse to make a mealy mixture. Add eggs, vanilla and cream and pulse to form a soft dough. Turn out pastry onto a lightly floured work surface and knead gently to form a firm but soft dough. Wrap in two equal sections. Refrigerate half of dough for an hour and place other half in freezer.

2. For filling, place all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat, tossing fruit to soften, about 8 to 12 minutes. Let cool about 15 minutes and then puree in food processor. Chill well.

3. Preheat oven to 350. Generously spray an 11x7 inch pan or 9x9 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray and place pan on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Pat out refrigerated dough in prepared pan. Bake about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool well.

4. Meanwhile, coarsely grate remaining frozen pastry on a box grater. Spread apricot filling on baked pastry bottom, then shower frozen grated pastry over apricot. Place pan on prepared baking sheet. Bake until top pastry is done, about 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely in pan and then dust with confectioners' sugar.