Apricot-Ginger Bites with Cocoa Nibs

I don't recall when we had such beautiful August. Nice weather, zero humidity, it feels like September is touching us already, but it's only beginning of the last month of summer. We spend our evenings outside. When sky darkens you can see bats flying around. Squirrels come out to eat wild walnuts on a big tree next to our deck. There is so much harmony, peace and quiet... After dinner we always have a tea or coffee. And of course my family usually asks for some sweet bites. Today I would like to introduce you to unbelievably delicious apricot-ginger cookies, that I baked purposefully for such cool summer evening. They are full of flavors and perfect with tea. I made them extra small, just one perfect bite, but I have to warn you, they are extremely addictive-) Enjoy!



Note: if you don't have spelt flour, you can use whole wheat pastry flour
Makes: about 55-60 tiny cookies

Ingredients:

• 2 cups spelt flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• pinch of salt 
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup dark molasses
• 1 Tbsp. fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large organic egg, well beaten
• 1/2 cup cocoa nibs (or chocolate chips, or bittersweet chocolate)
• 1 cup dried apricots, finely chopped (I received a nice package of Turkish apricots from Oh Nuts, Thank you!)
• 1/3 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup large-grain dark raw sugar, for coating the cookies

Directions:

In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking soda and salt, set aside. In a medium bowl stir together melted butter, sugar, molasses, and fresh ginger. The mixture should be warm, not hot. Mix in the beaten egg. Pour this mixture over the flour and add apricots and cocoa nibs. Stir until combined. Put the dough in refrigerator for about 30 minutes, just long enough to let it firm up a bit.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop out the teaspoon of the dough and roll it into a ball. Place the ball on a plate with large-grain dark raw sugar and roll it to coat well. Place the cookies a few inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

Bake the ginger bites for about 10 minutes, until cookies puff up and darken a little. Remove from the oven and let them cool for a couple minutes on a wire rack.