Angel Pillows

These cookies earn their name: they’re puffy, tender mounds enriched with cream cheese and brown sugar, with apricot preserves mixed right into the dough for little pockets of fruity sweetness.

Cinnamon and chopped pecans add warmth and crunch.

Once cooled, each cookie gets slathered with an apricot-spiked frosting and optionally crowned with shredded coconut, creating a cookie that’s somewhere between a pastry and a confection.

Kitchen Tips

• Drop by 2 tablespoons: Using two level tablespoons of dough per cookie creates the signature puffy pillow shape.
• Space them out: Two inches apart prevents spreading cookies from merging into one giant cookie.
• Cool before frosting: One minute on the pan, then transfer to racks and cool completely so frosting doesn’t melt.
• Butter-flavored shortening: It adds richness without making cookies greasy like all-butter versions can.

Variations

• Try different preserves: Peach, raspberry, or strawberry preserves work equally well in both dough and frosting.
• Skip coconut: Leave off the coconut topping for a cleaner, less sweet presentation.
• Add citrus zest: Fold in a teaspoon of orange zest to brighten the apricot flavor.