Desserts

Chewy Coconut Cookies

by

   

Greetings, humans. This is your friendly neighborhood Gouda Monster. You may remember me from such cookie recipes as Eyeball Butter Cookies and Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies. I have been out of the public eye for a time, lurking in the shadows and sharpening my teeth, but now I have returned to you with a gift of sweetness and simplicity.  For all you coconut fans – chewy coconut cookies! Chomp chomp!

coconutcookie1

As is often the case in my kitchen, I find myself throwing things into a bowl with the hopes that the resulting concoction won’t be a total disaster. One afternoon I was craving cookies but I didn’t have many ingredients on hand to work with. In the back of my pantry I eyed a hermetic glass jar packed full of sweetened coconut and figured I’d roll with it. I’d never made coconut cookies before so it was going to be a fun experiment. Imagine my surprise when I had perfectly sweet, chewy cookies with a slightly crispy edge on my first attempt!

coconutcookie2

The following day I made them again, doubling the recipe so that I could hand them out to friends. The reviews I received were overwhelmingly positive, someone even going so far as to say they could see the endorphins being released from their brain as they ate them. That’s the kind of response I like to hear! Several people asked me for the recipe so I knew these would have to make their way onto my blog, pulling me out of my lengthy hiatus.  Given how quickly this recipe comes together I think it will be a hit for parties or functions where you want to impress a group with a small amount of effort. 

coconutcookie3

Chewy Coconut Cookies
Serves 36
A simple to make coconut cookie with a chewy center and slightly crispy edges.
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
18 min
Total Time
33 min
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
18 min
Total Time
33 min
Ingredients
  1. 1 cup white sugar
  2. 1/4 cup brown sugar
  3. 2 sticks room temperature butter, unsalted
  4. 2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 3 tablespoons water (or 1 large egg)
  5. 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract (optional, but nice for a little more coconut oomph)
  6. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  7. 2 cups coconut (I used a mix of shredded and shaved coconut for the textural interest)
  8. 2 cups flour
  9. 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  10. 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  11. Fleur de sel for finishing (optional)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
  2. Cream together butter and sugars until lighter in color.
  3. Add extracts and egg replacer (or egg) and beat for about 30 seconds. Stir in coconut.
  4. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and kosher salt. Add to the coconut mixtures in thirds, combining well after each addition.
  5. Using a melon baller or small cookie scoop, scoop out rounded balls of dough and place about 2 inches apart on parchment lined sheet.
  6. Bake for 17-19 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies just start to brown. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with fleur de sel if desired. Allow cookies to sit for 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
Calories
  1. 210
Variations
  1. For an extra decadent treat, drizzle or dip each cookie with tempered dark chocolate.
Gouda Monster http://www.goudamonster.com/

coconutcookie4

Desserts

Three Ingredient Crispy Chocolate Treat

by

   

Some days you just wanna make something really easy with whatever you have on hand. I had a day like that last week. I had a craving for a sweet snack and wanted to make something somewhat reasonable with very little effort. That’s where these guys come in.

 

I made these bars two different ways, each way calling for three ingredients. The first one was made with chocolate and peanut butter while the second one was made with chocolate and toasted coconut. They are both really tasty and REALLY easy. This recipe is barely even a recipe. It’s a throw a bunch of stuff together and end up with something tastipe. Tastipe? I tried to make up a cool new word and I don’t think it really worked out.

Anyway! Because of the simplicity of ingredients involved you could definitely up the portions to say… fill an entire cookie sheet or baking dish, then slice it into squares. I can’t afford to keep that much of a good thing around or I’ll eat it all, which is why I only make enough for one bar. I cut the bar in half and eat a square at a time, but I suspect most people will want to eat the whole thing at once which is why I’m going to calculate the calories out as one serving. Also, you can use whatever kind of cereal you have on hand. I used Kashi Go Lean Crisp Cinnamon Crumble (that’s a mouthful – HA FOOD PUN) but pretty much any cereal with fairly small pieces should work fine. Lightly crushing a larger cereal would probably work well too.

While I was in the middle of writing this post I stood up and went into the kitchen to make one of these. I wanted to whip out my phone and quickly snap a photo of how I wrap these up before they go into the freezer. It’s not exactly rocket science but a little visual aid never hurt anyone! I also just wanted to eat one. Ain’t gonna lie.

 

Three Ingredient Crispy Chocolate Treat
Serves 1
Easy to make, three-ingredient chocolate snack.
Save Recipe
Print
Prep Time
15 min
Prep Time
15 min
Ingredients
  1. 1/4 cup dry cereal (I used Kashi Cinnamon Crumble)
  2. 1 tablespoon chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli bittersweet chips)
  3. 1 teaspoon peanut butter (I used Smucker’s Natural)
Instructions
  1. In a small bowl microwave the peanut butter and chocolate together until melted.
  2. Stir the cereal into the melted chocolate until thoroughly coated.
  3. Spread onto a sheet of parchment paper and fold it up, similar to how you’d roll up a burrito – making sure to fold in the edges to keep everything snug inside. This process is forming the shape of the bar so you want to keep it kind of tight to hold the edges in place.
  4. Transfer to the freezer to chill to 10-20 minutes until the chocolate has hardened. The amount of time it takes will vary depending on how flat you make your bar.
Calories
  1. 174
Variation
  1. To make the coconut version, sub 1/4 teaspoon of coconut oil and 1 tablespoon of toasted coconut in for the peanut butter.
Gouda Monster http://www.goudamonster.com/