A recipe for a cookie with apricots and nuts, covered with almond icing.
Source: Giada de Laurentiis and Food Network… always an amazing source.
Yield: about 2 dozen cookies
It’s been a while since I made a fruity cookie, and this one, frankly, hit the spot. Although, I have to admit, these did not turn out nearly as beautiful as Giada’s did, but that’s not her fault. I don’t think she frosted hers in this lovely shade of blue, either. I guess that’s what makes the two of us different. Right?
I was excited to have a reason to make a cookie with nuts in it. These use both slivered almonds and pine nuts. It has been a long time since I have eaten pine nuts. They are certainly not the cheapest nut in the store, but worth every penny for that wonderful piney flavor!
I mixed up my dough, just as directed. I sampled the dried apricots before mixing them into the dough. I personally think it is the responsibility of the baker to insure the ingredients taste amazing. At least, that’s what I tell my family when they catch me snacking.
Giada recommends you chill this dough for a couple hours. She wasn’t kidding about that. I only chilled mine for about 90 minutes, and it wasn’t enough. I should have chilled it over night, to make it slice into really pretty round slices. But alas! My dough was to soft and did not keep a pretty round shape. Of course, I also baked it too long (forgot to set the timer) so the edges were crispy and too brown.
Where Giada and I differ is in the icing. Hers is made from Amaretto and powdered sugar. Not being a drinker, I have a hard time wanting to spend money on alcohol I will never drink, just to make frosting for cookies. I’m just not into it. So I went with the non-alcoholic version. I mixed a little water and almond extract with my powdered sugar. I also put in a single drop of blue food coloring for effect, which ended up to be a little too effective, if you know what I mean.
No matter, the cookies were still delicious! I love the nutty flavor with the chewy apricots, and I really, really love almond icing. Even if it is bright blue.
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 large egg
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
- ¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
- For icing:
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons water
- Beat the butter, sugar, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla for about 2 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Add egg and mix.
- Stir in the flour until just blended. Gently stir in apricots and nuts.
- Transfer dough to plastic wrap. Shape into a log and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for 2 hours or more.
- Slice the chilled dough into ¼" to ½" slices, and place on a baking sheet. Bake about 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Allow to cool completely before icing.
- For icing:
- Mix ingredients together until well incorporated. Adjust texture by adding more water or more powdered sugar. Drizzle icing over cooled cookies.
