Salted Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

As far as I'm concerned, Fall is when the cookie-baking action gets kicked up into high gear. Though the real Cookie Season doesn't start until December for me, these few months leading up to that moment are like a warm up of sorts. Like the 5K before the marathon. Not that I know anything about running except for the fact that I thoroughly dislike it.

Let me just tell you about these cookies. I snagged the original recipe {that includes dark chocolate} on Real Simple a few years ago. It caught my eye because it looked like the perfect quick cookie recipe, so I kept it in my back pocket for a rainy day. Then, I actually made them. And OH my heavens... pink puffy hearts in my eyes.

I love them so much that I even used the recipe when I was asked to make cookies for a friend's wedding guest welcome bags. {Note: My other go-to is The Brown Eyed Baker's Sea Salt, Cashew & Milk Chocolate Cookies. I have created addicts by feeding people this cookie, it's so good.}

But when you make a recipe that isn't yours enough times, you start to experiment with it. Or at least I do. It all depends on what I have in the pantry that day, what kind of mood I'm in, and how much of a risk I'm willing to take. And that's how these Salted Coconut Oatmeal Cookies came to be.

The original recipe called for vegetable shortening, which I never use and therefore, never have on hand. As a substitute, I used coconut oil and the result was just as good, if not better. That teeny hint of coconut flavor made me crave a more coconutty cookie, so I added a bit of shredded coconut the next time. Finally, I decided to replace the white sugar with Bob's Red Mill Coconut Sugar. A coconut trifecta!

If you've never tried coconut sugar before, there's nothing to fear. To be honest, it it doesn't have much of a coconut flavor, but it does have deep, caramelized notes that work well with warm fall flavors.  Since I still have one foot in summer, I crumbled up some cookies to create a base for an easy dessert that combines the tropical flavors of coconut with its perfect foil: pineapple! A layer of creamy Stonyfield Organic in the middle ties everything together for a satisfying treat!

The cookies themselves are chewy, sweet {with a bit of salty} and comforting with the nubby oatmeal texture and that bit of coconut flavor. I underbake these a bit because I prefer my cookies on the chewy side, but if you're a crispy cookie lover, you can leave them in the oven just a little longer. They're also easy to make gluten free by using Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats and substituting the regular flour for your favorite gluten free blend.

Whether you snack on these cookies by themselves to turn them into a tasty parfait, you should find the time to give them a try. At the very least, as a test run for all the cookie-baking to come!

Disclosure:  I have an ongoing partnership with Stonyfield Organic as a member of their Clean Plate Club and received this product for review. As always, the opinions here are all my own!

Salted Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

The Kitchen Prep

The cookies themselves are chewy, sweet {with a bit of salty} and comforting with the nubby oatmeal texture and that bit of coconut flavor. 

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 22 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 24 cookies

Ingredients

  

• 1 stick butter
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup Bob's Red Mill Coconut Sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour {gluten free if desired}
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Rolled Oats
• ¼ cup +2 tablespoons unsweetened finely shredded coconut
• See Notes for Parfait Recipe

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and coconut oil together until relatively smooth. Add egg and vanilla and beat until fully incorporated.
• Sprinkle in coconut sugar and brown sugar and beat until smooth.
• Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, oats and coconut.
• With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry mixture and mix until fully incorporated. Don't over mix the dough, just make sure that there are no patches of dry ingredients left.
• Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon measure, scoop dough onto prepared cookie sheet leaving about 2-3 inches between cookies. {I like to make these cookies with a double scoop of dough, resulting in large, chewy cookies.}
• Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and the middle is just set.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheet for about 5 minutes until they set up so they are easier to move to a cooling rack.

Notes

For chewy cookies, bake as directed. For crispier cookies, bake 1-2 minutes longer.
You can also make these "standard" cookie-sized simply by using one scoop of dough as opposed to two. {But why would you want to??} You may need to reduce the baking time by a minute or two, just check for browned edges and set middles.

To make a parfait dessert: Crumble one cookie into the bottom of a small container and press down lightly. Top with a few tablespoons of Stonyfield Greek Yogurt. Top with chopped fruit of your liking.