Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Apricots and White Chocolate

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 tsp baking soda
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
7 ounces dried apricots, chopped (1-1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix flour, oatmeal and baking soda in a medium bowl. Cream butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add salt, vanilla, and eggs, and beat until well combined, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture gradually, beating until just combined. Stir in chocolate and apricots. Cover, and refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are golden brown around the edges but still soft in the center, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 1 week. Makes about 4 dozen.

Recipe from Martha Stewart Living, March 2009