Apricot white chip cookies (updated)!

I'm a little late for Jenn's second annual cookie exchange - but I figured better late than never. I actually made these for the first time tonight, absolutely delish. Tonight was my second attempt, so I thought I would update the recipe with the changes (and added picture so I'd get Jenn's extra special bonus points!).

Ingredients:
2 1/2c all purpose flour (9oz, 360g) (or use half whole wheat white flour)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4c butter, softened (6oz, 240g)
1c packed light brown sugar (5oz, 200g)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2c white chocolate chips (12oz, 500g)
1c chopped almonds (4oz, 150g)
1c apricot preserves (8oz, 300g)

Preheat oven to 350F (175C)
Toast the almonds until browned, once the oven is heated.
While the oven heats / almonds toast:
Cream the butter and sugar until smooth.
Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.
Beat the egg and vanilla into the creamed sugar.
Mix in the apricot preserves until incorporated
Stir in the flour mix until incorporated.
Add in white chips, almonds.
Drop dough by rounded teaspoons onto a cookie sheet (silicone etc. recommended!).
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.

I also made a few without the white chocolate chips - a bit less sweet, but also a very nice combination. I love these cookies! Pretty quick to make, and absolutely divine!

Recipe swap

A few people expressed interest in a recipe swap, and as I am desperate for something different to eat that A) is either good as leftovers, or B) is quick to prepare, I thought I'd go ahead with it. I think we can be pretty simple about this - post a recipe on your site and then let me know either via email or a comment, and I'll post a link to it here. And I'll keep this post at the top for a while, so the recipes will be easy to find.

Here are the recipes, I'll keep adding as I get links from folks:
Nico - asparagus pasta
Em - marinated black bean salad
Shelley - Joanne's crockpot stuffed green peppers and Shelley's crockpot swiss steak
Jenn - whole wheat mac-n-cheese and beef stew
Katie - Cheesy beer soup

Asparagus pasta

prep time ~25 minutes

Bring to boil:
2 qts water (you need to measure it because of the salt ratio).
1 Tbsp salt (don't reduce this - you're throwing most of it away later)

Cut up 1 lb asparagus: first cut off about 1.5 inches from the tip and then the top 1.5 inches from what's left, and put these pieces in a mesh bag (I use the ones that onions come in).

Cut up the remainder into 1.5" pieces.

Put these stalks and the mesh bag of tips into the water and cook for 3 minutes.

Remove the mesh bag and run cold water over it to stop it cooking. Put it aside.

Continue simmering the stalks for another 5 minutes.

Remove asparagus from the water and take out 1/2 cup of the water and transfer both to a blender. Don't empty out the rest!

Add 6oz fusilli or other small pasta to the asparagus water (use however much you need for 2 servings - you may like more than this).

Cook about 7 minutes (3 minutes less than whatever the package says)

In the meantime, add to the asparagus and water in the blender:
grated rind of 1 lemon
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil.
Puree in the blender till smooth.

Save 1 cup of the pasta water and drain the pasta.

Return it immediately to the pan with the puree and 1/2 cup of the saved pasta water.

Cook for 3 minutes over moderate heat (it should be boiling), stirring constantly. Add a bit more water if necessary. You want it to be a thick sauce, not a soup, but
remember the cheese will thicken it.

Add 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, and pepper to taste, cook briefly, then add the reserved asparagus tips and cook, stirrng gently, just long enough for the tips to get hot.

Serve immediately in pre-warmed bowls. (Or, reheat in microwave!)

The recipe also doubles really nicely, and makes for good leftovers too! If you double it, no need to use extra lemon rind, and still only add 1/2c water into the blender. Otherwise it gets too soupy. Double everything else.