Sunday, October 11, 2015

Oatmeal Coconut White Chocolate Cookies

Oatmeal Coconut White Chocolate Cookies - made dough September 27, 2015 from Big, Soft, Chewy Cookies by Jill Van Cleave

In another “use up the milk before it expires” baking move, I made this cookie dough one weekend and put it in the freezer for baking off at a future time. Later that week, my niece was attending a potluck with some friends so I suggested she might want to bake off some of the cookies and bring it with her. That’s why I make up cookie dough ahead of time, for these kinds of occasions. I told her to bake it on the convection setting for 10 minutes then see if it was done. Our ensuring conversation went like this:
My niece: It’s been 10 minutes but they don’t look done yet.
Me (checking the clock): It’s only been 7 minutes, not 10. Give it a few more minutes.
A minute later, my niece: How ‘bout now?
Me: Not yet.
30 seconds after that, my niece: How ‘bout NOW?
Me: Not yet!
Her: Iwannacookie!!
Me: OMG. Remind me never to take you on a road trip. (You know she'd always ask "are we there yet?" every 5 minutes.)

Yeah, that’s the comedy show that is me and my cookie-loving niece. And no, she’s not 5 years old, lol. And, if this post is picture-less, it's because I made the rare (very rare) mistake of forgetting to take pictures of it! When my niece made the first batch, it was at night and there was no natural daylight left so I didn't take a picture. No big deal, I thought, since there was still more cookie dough in the freezer and I could always take a picture of a later batch.

When my other niece came home for a night and wanted to bring cookies into her office the next day, I told her to bake off the rest of the cookies. Which she did. Which I also forgot to take pictures of. Ack. This may not be a big deal to some people but you're talking to me. Someone who pretty much takes pictures of every speck of food that crosses my path. My friends will tell you I'm not kidding. How could I forget?? Argh.

But since I did and since I don't have any milk left to make another batch of cookies, I will just have to describe them to you - these cookies stayed thick and didn't spread too much, the oatmeal gave them some texture and the coconut some chewiness while the white chocolate offered the sweetness to go with the brown sugar flavor of the cookie. In case that's too technical, the layman's term is "these were delicious". It's a tad different than the typical white chocolate chip cookie because of the oatmeal and coconut but that just made them better than the norm. They were a hit at niece #1's potluck and at the office of niece #2. My second niece even said one of her coworkers ate 3. Nice.

If anyone does make this, can you post a picture? :)

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
¼ cup whole milk
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
6 ounces white chocolate, cut into ½-inch chunks
  1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy and smooth. Add egg, milk and almond extract until just combined.
  2. In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Add to the creamed mixture. Stir in coconut and white chocolate.
  3. Portion into golf-ball-size dough balls, cover and chill or freeze until firm.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Place cookie dough balls evenly on baking sheet.
  5. Bake until edges of the cookies are golden brown and middles no longer look raw, about 12-15 minutes. Do not overbake. Let cool for 2-3 minutes then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

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