Oat Biscuits With Apricot, Rosemary And White Chocolate

I have a friend: her name is Catherine and she's a wonderful artist.    And she has a friend who has a daughter who is a food blogger.  So of course I had to buy her new book Wild Sweetness (by Thalia Ho).  The subtitle is Recipes inspired by Nature, so there are interesting ingredients like rosemary in the biscuits I've made today.  

What is it about rosemary lately?  My poor little bush has been lurking in the garden, unloved for many a moon, and now suddenly I've used it twice in two weeks.  Excellent herb, of much determination and grit, always there with its robust smell and taste.  And perfect for this delicious oat biscuit as we reach Anzac Day for another year on April 25.  Google it, foreign friends, if you're interested in this oft-times emotional remembrance of our soldiers, past and present.

golden bites of white chocolate heaven

Makes 16 chunky little darlings

ingredients:

225g. of plain flour (1¾ cups + 1 tbs)

160g. (2 cups) rolled oats

1 tbs rosemary leaves, chopped

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

230g. (1 cup) butter, softened (not melted)

175g. (3/4 cup + 2 tbs) white or caster sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

zest of an orange

140g. (3/4 cup + 1 tbs) white chocolate, chopped into small pieces

85g. (1/2 cup) dried apricots, chopped into small pieces

sea salt flakes, for sprinkling on the top before baking

Method:

Whisk the flour, oats, rosemary, baking powder and salt in a large bowl till well-combined

Beat the butter and sugar together (in another bowl) till creamy - three minutes in a stand mixer or six minutes with handheld electric beaters

Now beat in the vanilla and orange zest

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, and at a looooow speed, tip in the flour mixture till it is just combined with the creamed butter and sugar, and still a teensy bit floury

Then add the chocolate and apricots, and stir them in with vigour

Into the fridge the dough goes for half an hour, to chill

While the big chill happens, place your oven racks on the upper and lower thirds of the oven

Line two baking trays with baking paper, and turn your oven on to 180C/350F to warm up

Now grab the chilled dough, tip out onto a lightly-floured surface and pat into a 2.5cm/1 inch thick rectangle (or circle, no matter)

With your 6cm/2.5 inch biscuit/cookie cutter cut out beauteous, chunky, firm circles of dough and place them on the trays - leave a bit of room for each one to breathe and spread

Keep going till all the dough has been cut into circles (I had a bit of leftover dough so Mr P. ate it for me, being such a kind soul)

Sprinkle with sea salt, and bake for 16-18 minutes till light golden brown, making sure you swap the trays over halfway through the bake - i.e. top one on the bottom and bottom one on the top

Take 'em out, leave to cool for a few minutes, then let them cool completely on wire racks

Keep for a few days in an airtight container (not in the fridge)

Notes:

You may think 1 tbs of rosemary is too much, but it cooks out beautifully when the biscuits are done

Thalia says to use unsalted butter but I like my butter salted, so use whatever you prefer

Chop the white chocolate into small pieces so your dough doesn't fall apart (I used Lindt white chocolate) but use dark if you like

This is a dry dough that you'll think is not gonna work, but it does, my dears: as Thalia says, these are biscuits not cookies.  These are substantial, manly type fellas ...

ingredients gathered

creamy buttery zesty mixture

stir in the chocolate and apricots

slap your chilled dough onto a lightly-floured surface

there were two trays (honest) heading for the oven at 180C/350F

golden lovelies after 18 mins. - they weren't burnt, truly:-)

a plateful of lovelies

golden bites of salty chocolate pleasure

© Sherry M.

it's pinker in real life :-)

(Joining up with Marg from Intrepid Reader for Weekend Cooking.)