Dark Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Cookies
A massive blizzard named "Juno" was to hit New York City causing streets to be closed, subways to be suspended and millions of people trapped in their tiny apartments. For me this is one of my guilty pleasures, mostly because my mother used to make Snow Days super special. I have so many vivid memories of my sisters and I standing in the kitchen watching the snow pile up outside while we were elbow deep in dough. Sometimes it was pizza dough, sometimes it was a sweet braided bread we called "Daisy Bread," and other times it was just chocolate chip cookies. Even though the view out my window is now a brick wall and my mother is an hour away, I still keep these traditions alive. While stuck inside with my lovely roommate Kristen watching bad reality television, we decided cookies were just what the weather man ordered. I rummaged through my fridge and pantry to find 3 of my favorite ingredients: Chocolate, Coconut and Oats...and that is how these insanely delicious cookies were born. They are crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside and the unsweetened coconut gives them this wonderful flavor and interesting texture. These are a must try! Oh and if you are wondering about the blizzard, we woke up to a measly 6 inches on the ground, so here I am with an excess of eggs, milk, water and cookies but its off to work I go. Oh well!
Ingredients-
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup white granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1½ cups Ghiardelli Bittersweet 60% Chocolate Chips (They are larger than normal chocolate chips. You can also use dark chocolate chunks or baking bars and chop into chunks)
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes (I use Bob's Red Mill brand)
Steps-
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; adjust oven racks to middle positions. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl; set aside.
3. Cream together the butter and both sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes using a stand mixer or hand beater. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then mix in the vanilla.
4. Slowly stir in the flour mixture, then stir in the oats, chocolate chips and shredded coconut. Do not overheat, just mix until everything is evenly distributed.
5. Using 1 1/2 to 2 heaping tablespoons per cookie, roll the dough into balls and place on the cookie sheets, spacing them at least 2 inches apart (I use a small ice cream scoop used for cookie dough). Bake until the cookie edges are golden brown, but the middles are still quite pale, about 15-20 minutes depending on your oven. Rotate the sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool for at least 30 minutes. With these cookies they are actually better after they have cooled for an hour or so! They are crisp yet chewy and so flavorful and delicious! You can even sprinkle some large granualted decorative sugar on top of the dough to give it a shimmery effect like below. :)
