Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Coconut chocolate chip cookies * how to measure coconut flakesCoconut chocolate chip cookies1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour1/2 tsp baking soda1/4 tsp salt1/2 tsp cinnamon1/2 c. butter, softened1/2 c. light brown sugar1/4 c. white sugar1 egg1 tsp vanilla extract1 1/2 c. sweetened coconut flakes1 c. chocolate chipsPreheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and lightly grease baking sheets.Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, cream together egg and sugars until fluffy, then add egg and vanilla and mix well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with coconut flakes. Mix in chocolate chips. Scoop onto baking sheets and bake 11-13 minutes. Makes about two dozen.Welcome to the Real Life Cooking Podcast. I’m Kate Shaw and this week we’re going to learn how to make coconut chocolate chip cookies! It’s been a while since we had a cookie recipe and this one’s really good.If you’ve listened to our very first episode, you should know the basics of how to make cookies. This recipe is almost the same as that one but with the addition of coconut flakes. Some people hate coconut, but those of us who love it know that it helps retain moisture in a cookie and makes it chewy too.I have no idea where I got this recipe, but originally I wrote “optional” after the chocolate chips. Then, later, I scratched “optional” out. These cookies are so fantastic with the chocolate chips I can’t imagine leaving them out.It’s a pretty straightforward recipe. You’ll need a large mixing bowl and a medium mixing bowl, and a couple of cookie sheets. Grease the baking sheets lightly with butter or shortening, then set them aside. Turn the oven on to preheat. In the medium bowl, mix the flour, soda, salt, and cinnamon with a whisk or a fork.Then, in the large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and both kinds of sugar. Remember that when you measure the brown sugar, you pack it down hard into the measuring cup.Once the butter and sugars are thoroughly combined and the mixture is creamy, add the egg and vanilla and mix well. Then add part of the flour mixture to it and mix it in well. The recipe says to alternate adding the flour mixture and the coconut, but honestly, you can combine the flour mixture with the butter mixture and then add the coconut.But wait, how do you measure the coconut? Is it like brown sugar where you pack it down, or is it like flour where you scoop it into the cup lightly and level off the top?You measure flaked coconut like you do flour. Scoop it into the measuring cup, press it down very lightly and add more if you need to, then level it off. Then just dump it into the batter and mix it in well.I’ve made this recipe using sweetened coconut and I’ve made this recipe using unsweetened coconut, and I’ve made this recipe using a mixture of the two. I usually use a mixture, but all three work just fine and the cookies are plenty sweet. Just use whatever you have. Make sure to seal the rest of package of coconut well or put it in an airtight container so it doesn’t dry out before you use it again.Once you’ve mixed in the coconut and flour mixture and combined it all thoroughly, add the chocolate chips and mix well again. Then you’re all set to bake your cookies. I try to make these fairly small, but if you like big cookies that’s fine too. Scoop batter up with a spoon and drop on the cookie sheet, leaving an inch or two between cookies since they’ll spread a bit as they cook. Then pop the pan into the oven and set the timer for eleven minutes.In my oven, with fairly small cookies, eleven minutes does the trick. If you make your cookies bigger or if your oven tends to run a bit cool, you might need another minute or two. When they’re done, the coo