Almond Butter Coconut Cookies

Almond Butter Coconut Cookies - made dough May 12, 2018 modified from If You Give a Blonde a Kitchen

The original recipe called for adding dark chocolate chunks and nuts into these cookies. I'm sure that would've been good as well...except I don't really care for nuts in my cookies and I decided to omit the chocolate chunks as well to make this a more simple coconut cookie.

I'm glad I went with the more purist approach as I loved this cookie. Loved everything about it. The dough was easy to make and easy to handle, not too stiff or sticky. You can see from the pictures that the cookies didn't spread very much and stayed thick. They're (mostly) of uniform thickness because I made the dough into balls then flattened slightly into thick discs. The cookies baked more evenly that way.

The almond butter also gives this a different taste and texture than using all butter or peanut butter. My favorite aspect of this cookie was the texture. It's chewy and moist, especially with the addition of the coconut. I also liked the flavor of both the almond butter and the coconut. This has the brown sugar caramelized overtones I also favor in non-chocolate cookies. This is the perfect cookie for the heat of summer and those summer picnics since there's no chocolate to melt if served in hot weather. Also a must-try for coconut lovers. Which we must have at work as when I put these cookies out in the communal kitchen at the office, I'm not sure they lasted an hour before all I came back to was an empty plate.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup almond butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup coconut flakes

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, almond butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add egg and vanilla, beat until just combined.
3. Gradually add the flour mixture in two batches, mixing until just combined. Do not overmix. Fold in the coconut.
4. Portion dough into golf-ball size dough balls. Cover, chill or freeze several hours or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Evenly space frozen cookie dough balls on baking sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes, until edges are golden and middles no longer look raw or shiny. Do not overbake.
6. Let cool on baking sheet for several minutes then transfer to wire cooling rack to cool completely.