Dried apricot-studded shortbread cookies

I was kinda on a roll with those fruit-studded shortbread cookies.  I made them with cranberries for the Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap this past year, then I tried them out a few weeks later with a mixture of sweet and tart cherries, and in between I made them with some toasted coconut....and then I even went a step further and dipped those coconut beauties into some semisweet chocolate and sprinkled them with some salt.  But something was missing.  Namely one of my all-time favorite dried fruits....the apricot.  So, I set out one last time to make those shortbread cookies with some diced dried apricots.

Dried Apricot Shortbread Cookies

Adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 - 1 cup dried (Turkish) apricots, diced or chopped

Directions:

Chop the apricots by hand into smaller pieces -- I diced mine to make sure they were more uniform in size.

Set aside.

In a large bowl, using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speech until fluffy.

Add milk and vanilla.

Beat to combine.

With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour and salt.

Continue beating until the dough forms.

Add the chopped apricots.

Mix with a spatula to combine.

Divide the dough into 2 portions.

Shape each piece into a log.

Wrap logs in plastic wrap.

Place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Then, move to the fridge for another 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Using a sharp knife, cut each log into thin slices, about 1/4 inch thick.

Place cookies onto a ungreased cookie sheet (I used a parchment lined cookie sheet).

Bake until edges are just starting to turn brown, about 12 minutes (mine took about 10 minutes).

Remove from the oven.

Place cookies on a wire rack to cool.