Porcupine Cookies

Do you remember the movie, "Tortilla Soup", with Hector Elizondo? This movie was a cook's dream. I loved it. I had never heard of Porcupine Cookies until watching this film and I wondered what on earth they were. Well, quite by chance a few weeks later, in our local paper, I came across this recipe that I'm sharing today. These cookies are very unusual in that there is no flour; the sweetened condensed milk and coconut are the binding agents. They remind me of a cross between candy and a cookie. If you love coconut, you will love these cookies. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 cup pecan pieces
1 tbsp. butter
2-1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup chocolate chips
7 oz. sweetened condensed milk

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or use nonstick pans. Set aside.
2. Toss the pecans in the melted butter and spread in an ungreased rimmed baking pan. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden and aromatic. Set aside to cool, and then roughly chop.
3. Place chopped pecans and remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until moistened.
4. Spoon about 2 tbsps. batter for each cookie onto cookie sheets and gently flatten to circles of about 2-1/4" in diameter. Bake 10 minutes or until coconut turns a very pale golden, being careful not to brown too much. Cool on pans for about 5 minutes to set before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Yield: 2 dozen cookies