It's the end of semester
For college professors
As well as for those whom they teach.
It's final tests
And little rest
And lots of work for each.
I began a tradition
To help this condition
Though it makes my apron a mess:
Cookies I'll bake
For the students to take
To aid in relieving their stress.
Harry (my husband) teaches astronomy and physics at St. Mary's University of Minnesota here in Winona, and at the end of the semester, I bake cookies for his students (and for him.) These Apricot and Almond Cookies with White Chocolate are some of his favorites. They also go over well with the students, but then again, college students are usually hungry and tend to be grateful for any homemade foods.
Classes at St. Mary's are small, so there are always leftover cookies that Harry shares with me (one for you, two for me...one for you, three for me.) We like California dried apricots in this recipe, which are quite tart and offer a nice contrast to the sweet white chocolate. (Sun Maid brand markets them, and you can find them at the supermarket with the other dried fruit.) Turkish apricots are a fine, if sweeter, substitution, and you're sure to be able to find them.
I offer instructions here for using a heavy-duty stand mixer, but there is no reason you couldn't make cookies with a bowl and a spoon. Stirring cookie dough by hand probably builds character anyway!
Apricot and Almond Cookies with White Chocolate
adapted from Cooking Light Magazine
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup regular oats
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick), softened
1 tsp almond extract
1 large egg
¾ cup chopped dried California apricots
½ cup chopped white chocolate (or white chocolate chips)
½ cup chopped almonds
Preheat the oven to 350 F
1. Combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt; stir together with a whisk.
2. Place sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer; beat at medium speed until well blended. You want this to be nice and creamy-looking, with no large lumps of butter.
3. Add the almond extract and egg. Beat until well combined. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until blended. Stir in the apricots, white chocolate, and almonds.
4. Form balls out of the dough, about 1 tablespoon each and place them 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie baking sheets. Bake at 350 F for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
adapted from Cooking Light Magazine
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup regular oats
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter (3/4 stick), softened
1 tsp almond extract
1 large egg
¾ cup chopped dried California apricots
½ cup chopped white chocolate (or white chocolate chips)
½ cup chopped almonds
Preheat the oven to 350 F
1. Combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt; stir together with a whisk.
2. Place sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer; beat at medium speed until well blended. You want this to be nice and creamy-looking, with no large lumps of butter.
3. Add the almond extract and egg. Beat until well combined. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until blended. Stir in the apricots, white chocolate, and almonds.
4. Form balls out of the dough, about 1 tablespoon each and place them 2 inches apart on lightly greased cookie baking sheets. Bake at 350 F for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.
5. Place the cookie sheet on a wire rack and cool the cookies on the pan for 1 minute. Remove the cookies from the pan and cool completely on wire racks. Well, okay, you’re probably going to want to eat some while they’re still warm. They need to be quality-tested before you share them with anyone else, right?
Makes about 30 cookies.
Makes about 30 cookies.
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