Coconut Oatmeal Chewies
I absolutely adore the flavor of coconut... adore it. The texture, however, makes me gag. I once had shaved coconut that was in large pieces and was crispy, which was great, but that's not usually what you come across when you eat shaved coconut. Usually it's gritty and chewy and just... odd. I know that some people really truly love the texture of it, maybe even more than the flavor, but I am most certainly not one of them. This can make it hard when looking for cookie recipes, except that I've recently been introduced to the wonder that is coconut butter and holy good gosh, is it yummy! I first had it spread on a plain bagel, which was pretty much TO DIE FOR. So I went ahead and bought some for myself. As I was reading the label I was pleasantly surprised that it can easily be used in baking in place of butter! Suddenly a whole world of coconuty recipes were available to me in a way I could actually enjoy them! So I set off to try making a new variety of cookie and this is what I ended up with. It's basically the most delicious oatmeal cookie on the planet.
Coconut Oatmeal Chewies
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened
- 1/4 cup coconut butter, warmed until smooth
- 2 tsp vanilla extract OR 1 tsp each of vanilla extract & coconut extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
- 1 1/2 cups oats
- 4 tbsp flax seed meal
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl cream together the sugars and butters. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla (or vanilla & coconut) extract. Mix together until creamy and smooth. In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda & baking powder. Sift into wet mixture 1/2 - 3/4 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly. Add in flax seed meal and mix until combined. Now put away your mixer and pour in the oats. Work them into the dough with a large stirring spoon (the mixer breaks up the oats more than I'm cool with). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and drop dough by the spoonful. Cook for about 10-12 minutes, longer if a crunchier cookie is what you're looking for.
This cookie is SO joining my regular baking repertoire! Seth has been aching for oatmeal cookies for a very long time and my previous attempts were more akin to southern style lace oatmeal cookies and they never quite turned out right. This version is chewy and flavorful and all around yummy.
