This started out as a trialled tweak of the Orange Date Cookies back in the autumn. In a taste test of the two, we liked the Orange Date Cookies better on certain characteristics. The rest of the Grapefruit Prune Cookie dough was put in the freezer and forgotten about. About a month ago though, craving some cookies, we pulled it out and had a few cookies, and it turns out that although very different to the Orange Date Cookies in taste and texture, they are nevertheless very good in their own right. I therefore set out to try to recreate the recipe and the tweaks I had made at the time. I ran out of molasses though, so this batch was half honey and half molasses. I have put a few away in the freezer again and will try a fully molasses batch soon to compare them. In the mean time though, friends we visited for the weekend were willing to be guinea pigs for us and approved the cookies, as did both their little one and Little Bit.
Ingredients:
1 c butter, softened
1/2 c white sugar
1/2 c dark brown sugar
1/2 c oat flour ( I blitzed oats in our coffee grinder for these)
1/3 c molasses OR 2 1/2 tbsp molasses and 2 1/2 tbsp honey
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cloves
1 tsp ginger
2 c flour
1/4 c dried grapefruit peel
3/4 c prunes, chopped
1) Cream butter and sugar in a bowl. Add oat flour and molasses (and honey if using) and mix well. Soak grapefruit peel in a cup of hot water.
2) Stir vanilla and eggs into butter mixture, then gradually add dry ingredients.
3) Drain grapefruit peel, and add with prunes to the dough. Mix well. Drop onto greased cookie sheet by teaspoonfuls.
4) Bake at 180°C for 8-10 minutes until golden on top. Cool for a few minutes then enjoy warm!
These turned out very well. They are softer and spread more than the orange date cookies. I find them closer in texture, and sort of in taste, to ginger snaps than tollhouse cookies, Hubby finds them to more closely resemble oatmeal cookies. It's like trying to decide which facial features a child got from each parent though, and in reality the cookies are their own thing, not bastard versions of anything else. To make them a little firmer and have them spread less, I might try adding an extra 1/4 c of flour next time. They also came out darker than I had anticipated. Initially I though I had let them go too long, but let the next batch go less time and they were actually less good. Tanner it is then! I was then worried that they would be too hard and crisp, but not at all. They stayed moist over the next couple of days and were lovely and soft without being sticky. Overall though, I am delighted with these. Let me know what you think!
Book Pairing: While baking these I was listening to Dante's Inferno. I read it before, years ago, but find that it stands up very well to a second reading.... well, listening. Dante and Virgil found themselves dealing for passage from circle to circle with the demons who guard Hell, as they pass souls in a a flaming pit. Dante's imagery is very evocative and he is an enjoyable narrator, I only wish I knew more about some of the historical figures he encounters as it would be easier to follow some bits. The verse nature of the book does well in audio version but the downfall of the medium is that I don't have access to text notes. Oh well.
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