These are great-looking chocolate cookies studded with dried fruit and nuts. You can decorate them by scattering the nuts and dried fruit over them haphazardly or spend time over an artistic design. Either way, they make thoughtful Easter gifts.

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1-1/2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• 2-1/2 tbsp. honey
• 1 tsp. water
• 3-1/2 oz. white chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• 1/4 cup pistachio kernels
• 1/4 dried cranberries, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions
1 Preheat the oven to 325F. Put the flour, baking powder, cocoa, sugar, butter, and honey in a food processor and pulse until you get crumbs. Add the water and mix until a ball of dough has formed.

2 Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and roll out with a rolling pin until about 1/4 inch thick. Cut out egg shapes with a cookie cutter and place on a greased baking sheet.

3 Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, then let cool before decorating.

4 To decorate, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Do not let the base of the bowl touch the water. Stir until melted.

5 Brush the melted chocolate over one side of each cookie with a pastry brush, then scatter the nuts and cranberries over the top. If you prefer, you can arrange the decoration in a pattern.

6 Let the chocolate cool and set before serving. Store in an airtight container away from sunlight for up to 2 weeks.

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Excerpted from Popina Book of Baking. Copyright © 2010 by Isadora Popovic. Excerpted by permission of Filipacchi Publishing a division of Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc. All rights reserved.