So we had two days off from school because of the snow last week. And we have today off because of Presidents Day. And now it’s looking like it’s gonna snow again on Wednesday, so that probably means another snow day. Now this is wonderful news because I love snow days but also, it means I’m no longer behind on my recipes! I finished up two March recipes last week so we are back on track.
Today I’m testing my Saint Patricks Day recipe and I think it’s gonna be a good one. It’s fun, but also fancy, and very tasty. In addition to that one, we have two more very cozy recipes, and then one that’s just a tasty treat.
After I finish up March recipes, I’ll be moving on to April recipes which means Spring. I’ll be honest with you, Spring is my least favorite season. It’s stressful, kinda sad, and serves as a signal that the cozy season from September-March ish is over. I don’t like warmer weather, but at least half the year is in warmer weather so I guess I’ll just deal.
I also don’t like spring/summer baking as much. In general, it means more fruits and florals which can be fun, but I prefer warm, chocolaty, spiced, cozy desserts. Anyway, let’s not get to wrapped up in the future, let’s focus on todays recipe. Whenever a recipe is giving me trouble, I can’t stop thinking about it until I fix it. But eight versions later, we have these cookies which are crisp on the outside, gooey on the inside, and filled with buttery and sweet coconut flavor.
Describe These Cookies to Me
Taste: The hero flavor in these cookies is the coconut, which is complimented by the bittersweet caramel and nutty brown butter. Vanilla and cinnamon add little pops of flavor that make these cookies the perfect comforting treat.
Texture: Fresh out of the oven, these cookies have a crisp outside and gooey interior that makes them the perfect cozy wintery cookie. Once they’ve cooled down they have a slight chew, but are still crisp on the side and melt in your mouth.
Ease: These cookies are relatively simple to make. The dough itself comes together in one bowl, with no mixer, and no chilling required. However, making the caramel shards and browning the butter makes these a little trickier than your classic chocolate chip cookie.
The Caramel Shards
So I guess I’ve been on a bit of a caramel kick lately. My caramel gingerbread latte cookies, gluten free cookies, and caramelized banana muffins all use this method. But it’s shockingly simple and adds this extra level of flavor to cookies. All you do is melt some sugar in a saucepan before stirring in a little butter. Pour that out onto a baking sheet and it will harden up pretty quickly. Then you can break that into shards and fold it into your dough. This adds a buttery bittersweet flavor, as well as a little chew to the cookies.
The Coconut
Through all of my many trials of this cookie, one factor stayed the same and that was the brown butter coconut. I did a similar trick with pistachios in my chewy chocolate pistachio cookies in January, and I knew it would work perfectly in these cookies. The way it works is you melt down butter (always salted for cookies 😉) and then add in the coconut. Keep cooking it and the butter will start to brown as the coconut toasts. Pour that into a bowl and treat it just like melted butter in a cookie, stirring in your sugar and eggs. In addition to that coconut, the cookies add 1 cup of unsweetened coconut at the end for the perfect balance.
Caramel Coconut Cookies
Ingredients
Method
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Get out all the ingredients for the caramel so they are at the ready.
- In a medium sized saucepan, melt the sugar over medium heat until amber brown, for roughly 6 minutes. It will seem like nothing is happening at first, but the sugar will begin to melt and clump up, and will eventually all melt down to a deep amber brown. Once melted, add the butter and use a whisk to combine. Once butter is completely melted, remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk vigorously just until the butter is mostly combined. Then immediately pour the caramel onto the previously prepared baking sheet and spread it out into a relatively thin layer. It hardens fast, so work quickly! Let the caramel sit for 5 minutes before using your hands to break it into small shards. Set aside while we make the cookie dough
- Melt the butter in a medium sized saucepan. Once melted, add in the sweetened shredded coconut and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the coconut is toasted and the butter is browned, roughly 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into a large mixing bowl and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- Too the slightly cooled brown butter, add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and whisk to combine. It should be clumpy. Add in the vanilla extract and both eggs, and whisk until smooth. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and unsweetened coconut. Use a large spatula to fold the mixture together, you should have a slightly thin and sticky dough. Finally, fold in the caramel shards.
- Shape the dough into balls and place two inches apart on the previously prepared baking pans (I always use a cookie scoop to shape these because the dough is so sticky). Bake for 11-13 minutes or until the edges appear set. Sprinkle the warm cookies with flakey sea salt and enjoy warm! Cooled cookies stay fresh sealed in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.