Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Apricots and White Chocolate

I made these cookies mainly for my boyfriend, because he loves dried apricots. Oatmeal is one kind of cookie I've never made, but I was definitely up for the challenge!

Another Martha Stewart recipe... thanks Martha!

 I ended up using raw sugar in place of regular granulated sugar. I had researched it a bit and everything I found said there would be no difference due to the substitution and, as far as I can tell, they were right! I went to http://www.recipezaar.com/ and found the following: "Raw sugar is the residue left after sugarcane has been processed to remove molasses and refine the sugar crystals. With flavor similar to brown sugar, it should not be confused with brown sugar. Raw sugar contains molds and fibers which are considered nutrients, however, to be sold in the US raw sugar has been refined losing some of these properties."

Fascinating! I was under the delusion that raw sugar was just "ground less". Silly me. (I also used to think that my Grandmother was an airplane at one point in her life, when I was a kid. I'm not sure where I get these ideas from.)



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 (I used raw)
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped ( I used whole chips)
7 ounces dried apricots, preferably California, chopped (1 1/2 cups)

The recipe starts by telling you to preheat your oven, but since you have to chill the dough there's really no sense in turning it on yet. Unless of course, you are chilly and didn't pay the gas bill last month. Oops!

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.

*Intermission* Feel free to wash dishes and preheat your oven now!

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.

Cookies!

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.

This recipe has gotten a lot of great feeback! I found that fresh out of the oven the apricots still seemed tart, but after a day (oh, that magical "next day" for food!) the flavor really mellowed out and blended well with the oats and chocolate. If/when I make these again I will probably use dried blueberries instead of apricots (just a personal preference).