Holiday Time! White Chocolate Apricot and/or Cranberry Cookies

I'm a bad blogger! I figured with the holidays around the corner I'd have more time to post, but apparently that's not so. Lots of studying and huge chunks of time spent out of the house have me hankering for some quick homemade goodies, of which these do the trick. The recipe stemmed from my mom's original, old-school chocolate chip cookie recipe, but I've made some major changes to get it to the point that it's at below. Just to note, the recipe below is a boubled version of the original, but when we make it at home we always double it (it makes about 18-20 cookies). If you want a smaller batch, just halve all the amounts.

White Chocolate and Apricot and/or Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 white sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1.5 sticks unsalted butter (if using salted butter, omit salt below), fridge temperature, cut into large chunks

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter)

1 tsp cinnamon (or a touch more)

1 tsp cardamom

1/4 tsp nutmeg (optional)

1/4 tsp ground ginger (optional)

1/2 bag of white chocolate chips (or chocolate chunks), or about 1.5 cups, or until is looks like enough!

about 1.5-2 cups dried cranberries and/or chopped dried apricots and/or chopped dried figs

approx 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, broken into big pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 F. With a standing mixer, handheld mixer, or by hand, beat both sugars, eggs, vanilla and butter until combined. Here's where people go wrong - you DON'T want the mixture to be perfectly mixed, you still want chunks of butter! I don'y know why, but it always makes my cookies come out better. To do so, you need to start with butter that's about the temperature of your fridge, not completely melted.

Sugar

Combined initial ingredients

Do not beat it much more than shown here!! There should be chunks of butter still remaining.

Add the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. Mix to combine.

Added flour

Mixing until combined

Add white chocolate, dried fruit and nuts. Mix until just combined. Form into balls and place on UNgreased cookie sheets. Another trick of mine is not to overshape the cookies - you want them chunky and kind of un-smooth (see below). Again, I can't tell you why, but I promise they come out tastier! Bake for 10-13 minutes at 375 F, or until slightly browned at the edges but still puffy at the center. They will continue to cook slightly as they cool. Transfer to rack (if you have one) to cool. Dip in milk and enjoy!

Finishing touches

Wonderful un-perfectly-formed cookies. Look at those chunks! Look at that asymmetry! Exactly what you want in a home-made cookie.

My baking partner

Sometimes when I feel mean, I put batter on Lulu's nose and watch her lick it off. Yes, I'm about 12 years old.

Finished cookies!

Note: For Viv's choc chip cookies, take out all of the spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom...although sometimes I add cinnamon for good measure), and replace the fruit and white chocolate with semi-sweet chocolate chips (NOT milk chocolate - they're too sweet!). Yumyumyum!

An Ode to Mike Spiak: Crack Bread

I don't know why I'm giving away this recipe so early in the game. It (the recipe) might be the only reason why I have friends. No matter who I make it for, it's always a huge success (and I don't get it, because it's so easy!). But it's one of my favourites, and definitely not to be missed, so here you go!


Normally things entitled "crack" connote not-so-good things: a cracked mirror (bad luck), a cracked/broken heart (never fun), and the drug crack (enough said). Why is this recipe called "Crack Bread??" Well, it didn't used to always be the case. At one point in time I referred to it as "Chocolate Chip Banana Bread," and prior to that, Martha was even credited when I called it "Martha Stewart's Chocolate Chip Banana Bread." But over the years I've made my own permutations and adjustments, and it no longer looks like Martha's (do I dare assert that, gasp! maybe it's BETTER?). I decided to tackle making it in Zambia with the most fragrant, luscious bananas straight from the trees, unlike the cardboard, starchy versions we get here, and my friends always quickly demolished it. Inevitably, there was always a pathetic inch-by-inch square lazily covered in plastic wrap since no one ever wanted to be the final decimator. The cockroaches were the last ones to greedily pick at the crumbs. Hopefully when you make it cockroaches won't even be in the picture. 


Here's a haiku in honour (for you, I'll even write honor) of Spiak:


Oh, Michael Spiak
How you devoured Crack Bread
In Zambian heat.


Far away from home
I am a good Jewish mother
So you made me feel.


No more excuses
Add it to your repertoire
Pizza bread, chicken.


Crack Bread (aka Chocolate Chip Banana Bread)

Makes 1 loaf

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan

3/4 to 1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour (can also be a mixture of whole wheat and white)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt (reduce to 1/2 if using salted butter)

1 teaspoon cinnamon (sometimes I make it 2!)

1 cup mashed very ripe bananas

1/2 cup sour cream (or thick, plain yogurt)

1 teaspoon vanilla (or 2...)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

One package of semi-sweet chocolate chips!

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or by hand with a fork! Or with electric beaters! Or with old-school egg beaters!) cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (note: if you're not using an electric mixer, melt the butter almost fully in the microwave. Your bread won't have quite as much volume but it will taste the same). Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.

Creamed butter and sugar

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined.

I like to use a sifter when available, but it's not imperative

Add bananas, sour cream or yogurt, and vanilla; mix to combine. Scrape down sides if extra unmixed batter sticks there.

Yummmm baby food

Stir it up!

Pushing down sides

Stir in nuts if using, and chocolate chips! Pour into prepared pan.

With chocolate chips and nuts

In pan!

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (or with a few moist crumbs), about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

Note: This bread freezes really well! If you live alone, feel free to bake it, cut it in half, and eat part now while wrapping the second half tightly in plastic wrap.

In my excitement, I forgot to take a picture of the final product! I know, what a ditz. But here are two friends, Alla and Steve (and Jamie overlooking them) eating crack bread while waiting for our flight to Tanzania. Don't they look happy?