Every now and then a recipe comes along out of the blue that sweeps me off my feet. I was in the bakery catching up some Tuesdays with Dorie recipes when POW theses cookies came along. Soft, crunchy, chewy, chocolaty, a hint of coffee... I love them.
For those of you who are new to my blog, I'm part of the group of bloggers who are baking our way through the book Baking with Julia, by Dorie Greenspan. Twice a month we make a recipe and blog about it, linking to the big site Tuesdays With Dorie. We get to make recipes we may not have otherwise tried, and some that we've made lots of times. You'll always have link to the host for the week who provides the recipe. You might even peek ahead and bake along with us. You're always welcome to join me and comment on your baking successes...or challenges.
The recipe calls for dried apricots. I usually have some around, but not today. As I looked through the cupboard, I found a big bag of dried plums - better known as prunes. They were soft, and plump and with the dark color, perfect for the cookies.
Another wonderful attribute to the recipe is that it calls for chocolate which is chopped rather than chips. I used chopped dark chocolate 58%. Some big chunks, dust, and little pieces. I prefer chocolate chopped rather than chips in most cookies.
The recipe assembles easily. Cream the butter and sugars, add the eggs, stir in the dry ingredients, then the chopped prunes and chocolate. My dough was still very cool after it was mixed so I didn't chill it as the recipe suggested. The cookies baked to a great color in 12 minutes, just as directed.
There's no need to squish or smoosh the cookies. The balls of dough are about the size of ping pong balls.
The fruit disappears into the dough and adds a texture and sweetness which compliments the coffee and chocolate. As we wait for the arrival of spring and temperature to warm, these will warm your heart. Enjoy!
You can find the recipe at Galettista by our host Peggy.