White Chocolate-Dipped Peach Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

Oatmeal raisin cookies are a tried-and-true classic, but not everyone's a fan of dehydrated grapes. While developer Patterson Watkins is no raisin hater, she says "I don't go out of my way for 'em," and some of her friends and family absolutely can't stand this fruit. Inspired by the wide variety of dried fruits now available in the grocery store, she came up with the idea of using peaches as a more appealing raisin substitute.

Dipping the cookies in white chocolate adds the perfect "peaches and cream" touch to the final product. What with the sweetness of the chocolate, the tang from the dried fruit, and the nutty flavor of the oatmeal and the pecans or walnuts, what you have here is one well-balanced cookie. As a bonus, oatmeal cookies are a nutritionist-approved pick for healthy snacking. While we can't guarantee that an oatmeal cookie a day will keep the doctor away, we can just about guarantee that it'll hit the spot no matter when you enjoy it — morning, afternoon, or night.

The cookie dough is made with butter, sugar (both brown and white), an egg, vanilla, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, oats, and dried peaches. Once the cookies are baked, they're finished off with a white chocolate coating and a sprinkling of chopped pecans or walnuts.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

Place softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment.

Mix the ingredients together until blended and fluffy.

Add the egg and vanilla to the bowl and continue mixing until blended.

In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and oats.

Add the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl and stir until mostly combined (the mixture will still be a little crumbly).

Add the dried peaches and stir until totally combined.

Using a small scoop or tablespoon measure, portion the cookie dough into balls and place 1 to 1 ½ inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.

Place the sheets in the oven and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or lightly golden on the bottoms with a slight softness in the center.

Transfer the cookies from the baking sheets to a wire rack and set aside to cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Once the cookies have cooled, place the white chocolate chips in a double boiler over medium-low heat and melt, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Once melted, dip ⅓ of the cookie into the chocolate, coating that section completely, and allowing any excess chocolate to drip off. Place the dipped cookie on a wax paper-lined cookie sheet.

Sprinkle the dipped portion of the cookie with chopped nuts.

Once all the cookies are coated in chocolate and sprinkled with chopped nuts, set aside to cool for 30 minutes or until the chocolate has hardened before serving.

If you typically melt your chocolate in the microwave, you may be wondering why this recipe calls for using a double boiler instead. The reason for this is that it allows for better temperature control and also lets you see the chocolate as it melts. This means there's less chance of it seizing or scorching, so you won't ruin the chocolate by letting it overheat. If you don't own a dedicated double boiler, that's no problem, since you can use a metal bowl that fits over a saucepan. Fill the pot with water up to right below the bottom of the bowl, then simmer the water over medium-low heat as the chocolate melts in the bowl above.

If you are in a hurry to melt the chocolate, you can certainly use the microwave, but it's best to take a few precautions to ensure the safety of your chocolate. If your microwave allows you to adjust the heat level, set it on medium. You should also heat the chocolate in intervals of 20 to 30 seconds, mixing between each one. If there's just a little solid chocolate left, keep stirring until it dissolves in the residual heat.

If you can't find dried peaches and are wondering if you can substitute fresh ones, the answer is no ... and yes. While fresh peaches don't have the proper texture to be added to the cookies as-is, you can peel them, dice them, press them between a few sheets of paper towels, and place a heavy weight on top. Let them air dry, and voila! You now have DIY dried peaches. You can also use the same method for frozen peaches as long as you thaw and drain them first. Canned peaches won't work, though, since pressing them will just squash them.

Yet another option is to replace the peaches with a similar dried fruit such as apricots or even a not-so-similar one like cherries, dates, pineapple, or plums (aka prunes). While the cookies will taste different, they'll be equally flavorful. Feel free to make a few extra tweaks to the recipe to suit your new fruits like using dark chocolate for dipping (this would complement either apricots or cherries) or swapping out the nuts for shredded coconut (perfect for pineapple).