Christmas Cookies, Part VI

As soon as I saw the recipe for these, I knew I had to make them. They sounded so unusual, and I love savory and sweet together in desserts. They come from a bakery in New York called Baked, which has a ton of unique sweets that I'm dying to try out (next baking session: spicy chipotle brownies).

Sadly, we have come to the end of my Christmas baking spree. The rest of the week I'll be posting some super-healthy curries to offset the effects of eating practically nothing but cookies for a few weeks.


Apricot-Rosemary Squares
For the rosemary dough:
1 1/2 sticks = 3/4 cup = 12 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
grated zest of half a lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 3/4 cups flour

For the apricot filling:
2 cups (230g) California dried apricots
1 1/2 cups water or white wine
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brandy
pinch of salt

For the crumb topping:
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup pecans or almonds, coarsely chopped
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and line with parchment paper, allowing the parchment to hang over the edge.

2. Make rosemary dough: cream butter with powdered sugar and salt. Add vanilla, lemon zest, and rosemary, then gradually add flour, mixing until the dough is smooth.

3. Transfer the dough to the baking pan and pat it flat into the bottom. Chill 30 minutes.

4. Make apricot filling: combine apricots, water, sugar, honey, brandy, and a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Let cool for a few minutes, stirring, then puree in a blender until smooth (I just mashed mine up with a whisk right in the pot. There is no way I'm going to wash syrupy apricot jelly out of a blender by hand).

5. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Bake shortbread for 20-25 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

7. Make crumb topping: mix together flour, sugar, nuts, salt, and butter until the mixture just barely starts clumping together.

8. Spread the apricot filling over shortbread, then top with crumbs. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

9. Remove from oven and let cool completely, then slice. The bars can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator.