Contributor post by Lyndsay of Coco Cake

 

Coconut... ya either love it or you hate it. Hands up if you're a coconut lover? If coconuts had a fan club I might be the vice president. Wait, there's already probably that fan club, right? Coconut oil smeared on crispy toast with almond butter and fresh raspberries, rich coconut milk in a fragrant Thai curry, shredded toasted crunchy coconut atop a frosted cupcake ... and all that deliciousness trapped up in a rock hard hairy brown bowling ball high up in a hard-to-reach palm tree!






Back to cookies... I wanted to make a thank you present for my sweet friend Bobbi, one of the coconut lovers, for lending me her daughter's bassinet for when my little baby was a mini newborn.... and I wanted to try a coconut cookie of some kind. I'm forever trying to find the balance between the salty and the sweet when it comes to desserts. A fine sprinkly teaspoon of sea salt is always a welcome addition to my desserts - especially cookies! This cookie is light on the sweetness, bittersweet from the cocoa powder, textured from the coconut, with a touch of salt and rich from butter. I used a 22-24% Dutch process cocoa powder for this cookie which gives it a more complex and slightly bitter flavour and very dark colour! Feel free to use a lighter cocoa powder if so desired...


DARK CHOCOLATE COCONUT COOKIES

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup golden yellow sugar (or brown sugar)
1 egg, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup shredded sweetened dried coconut
1 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Make it!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

1. Using a stand mixer or handheld beaters, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg until incorporated.
3. Add pure vanilla extract extract to combine.
4. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, coconut, cocoa powder and salt to combine.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture until combined.
6. Add the chocolate chips until combined.
7. Using a small ice cream scoop or clean hands, dole out 2 inch round balls of batter evenly spaced on baking sheets, a dozen per sheet. Flatten each cookie with fork dipped in warm water if so desired.
8. Bake in oven for 11-14 minutes, depending on how hot your oven is, turning pans halfway through. 9. Remove from oven and let cool on baking sheets, then transfer to container or right into your mouth! Serve with an ice cold glass of milk. 

Cookie attack!! See you next time, Poppytalk readers!