Many delightful things lie in wait within Gourmandistan’s various freezers, fridges, pantries and cabinets. Most of them shuttle in and out, and are replaced frequently. But some things seem to stay, long past the time we remember why we bought them. Miniature white chocolate chips were one such ingredient—but we finally found a great way to get rid of them.
Michelle doesn’t remember every detail of her decision to bring white chocolate into our home. While the substance does have its defenders, Gourmandistan has a distinct preference for the darker, more bittersweet varieties. Most likely intended for a Dorie Greenspan cookie glaze, the mini white chips had sat amongst other sweet ingredients for quite a while and were possibly facing a date with a trash bin. (Neither cats nor chickens can handle chocolate of any variety.) But in the midst of an Indian cooking spree inspired by her new Meera Sodha book, Michelle had the idea to add cardamom and ginger to a mix of oats, dried apricots, sliced almonds and the remaining white chocolate chips. The balance of sweet, spice and tart was quite enjoyable.
We probably won’t be buying any more white chocolate soon, but we definitely have a plan should some surplus present itself.
CARDAMOM APRICOT OATMEAL COOKIES
(adapted from Lee Bailey’s Country Desserts)
- 1-1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- Pinch of salt
- 1-1/2 tsp. ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1 c. (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1/2 c. dark brown sugar
- 1 c. granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 c. old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 c. dried apricots (preferably from California), finely chopped
- 1/2 c. sliced almonds
- 1 c. mini white chocolate chips
Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cardamom and ginger. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugars together until fluffy. Mix in beaten egg and vanilla. Add flour mixture. Then, mix in oats. Finally, mix in apricots, almonds and white chocolate chips.
Refrigerate, covered, for at least an hour.
Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Place tablespoon-sized balls of dough on prepared baking sheet. Shape the balls into discs.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until set. (Watch carefully. The bottoms burn easily.) Remove from cookie sheet and cool on a wire rack.
Dough will keep in the refrigerator for several days, but may become crumbly. If so, warm to room temperature before forming and baking.
Gourmandistan 
OMG…I am drooling, thank you for posting this
🙂
Love the sound of this. I’m no fan of white chocolate but with spice and tart apricots I could just about manage
I know. It’s a difficult ingredient. So cloying. But the tartness of the apricots was good counterpoint.
Wow. I love the sound of these cookies.
Merci, Darya! It did work out well. We gave most of them away and now I’m regretting that!
Those sound like superior cookies! I like the idea of apricot, ginger and cardamom.
What’s not to like, right?
I used to dislike white choc … but back then, it was pretty nasty… now I… LOVE it… :)… quality, organic, bla bla bla stuff… in fact I cannot stand the combo dark chocolate + strawberries or rasp (I do not think it makes sense pairing two acidic elements), but I really like the combo white choc + sharp fruit… the combo white choc and apricot and cardamom seems spot on
I think you’re right that the quality is better now. And, honestly, I kinda like it in some things (though Steve disagrees). It’s good with tart fruit, for sure.
Oh, I did the same thing and bought a HUGE bag of white chocolate chips, along with dark and milk. I’ve used most of the plain chocolate but the others are lingering … you have saved my bacon (sorry about the mixed food metaphors).
Glad to be of service. 🙂
Quote of the day has to be “The balance of sweet, spice and tart was quite enjoyable.”. What a lovely recipe.
Thanks, Conor!
Looks chewy, the way I like it. Perfect!
Thanks, Raymund. Nice when some random thoughts come together and work out!
I love a good oatmeal cookie but never had dried apricots or cardamom in one. Works for me as we love cardamom in our baked goods over this way and the apricots would be a grand change from the raisins we usually add.
My mom always makes them with dried cherries. That’s good, too!
Unfortunately my earlier comment didn’t go through. Your cookies sound wonderful, love that you added apricots. Happy New Year.
Happy new year to you as well, Karen!
Healthy!
Rigiht. 🙂
Thank you!