Spiced Oatmeal Cranberry Apricot Cookies

I have to admit, when I started searching Cupcake Muffin's blog for this month's SRC, I was like a kid in a candy store.  Oohhh ooohhh look at all the yummy cookie recipes, I want that!  Wait, wait, look at all the delicious cake recipes, I want that!  What?  There's more sugary stuff over there too?  What they hey, I'll just take all of it.  Consequently, I didn't make just one recipe from Sara's blog, I actually tried three different ones over the course of the month.  But, one of those recipes was one that she made for her SRC before, so I chose not to showcase that one.  Instead, I bring you some amazing Spiced Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries and Apricots. 

I teach a group of teenage girls and I like to make their birthdays special by presenting them with an assortment of cookies.  Each month, I change things up and try new recipes and Sara's oatmeal cookie recipe looked like just the thing to make.  I didn't have any dried cherries, but I did have some dried cranberries, so I added those in instead.  I also didn't have any cardamom on hand, so I subbed in some ginger powder.

 

These cookies came out just like the ones in Sara's picture, all thick and chewy and full of orange and red bits of fruit that looked like jewels.  My mom saw them cooling on the counter and, after asking if it was alright to take one (she knows I gotta take pics first), promptly declared that they were really good!  I ate one myself and boy was she right.  Even better, these are totally healthy - just bursting with fiber, antioxidants, and vitamin C.  Okay, maybe you don't care about that.  In that case, they're bursting with flavor, fruitiness, and spiciness that can't be beat.

Sara, your cookies rock! My tastebuds thank you.

Spiced Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cranberries and Apricots (adapted from Cupcake Muffin)

1-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ginger powder
2 sticks softened butter
1-1/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2-3/4 cups quick oats (not instant oats)
6 ounces dried cranberries
3 ounces dried apricots, diced

1. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger powder and set aside.
2. Beat together the butter and sugars until smooth and creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.  Add the vanilla and beat to incorporate.
3. Add the flour mixture and stir in with a rubber spatula until the flour is mixed in enough not to fly out of the mixer.  Then beat until just incorporated.  Add the oats and beat until just combined.  Stir in the cranberries and apricots with a rubber spatula.
4. Cover the bowl and chill at least 6 hours or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line two baking sheets with foil or parchment.
6.  Scoop out about 1 tablespoon of dough per cookie, and gently roll into a ball with your palms.  Bake 10-12 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through, until the cookies just begin to brown.
 7.   Let cool on a cooling rack.