Browned Butter Oatmeal Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

oatmeal coconut chocolate chip cookies!

browned butter oatmeal coconut chocolate chip cookies!

This cookie has all my favorite flavors: browned butter, chocolate chips, oatmeal, coconut and a little bit of saltiness. You could also add some toasted pecans for an extra kick. Ahhhh!!! (head explodes).

  • 1 1/2 C AP flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 C unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp. fleur de sel (more for sprinkling on top of cookies)
  • 1 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp Vietnamese cinnamon
  • 1 1/4 C dark brown sugar
  • 1/8 – 1/4 c white sugar (I used about 1/8C)
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 TB molasses
  • 1 1/2 c. dark or bittersweet chocolate chips
  • 1 C unsweetened coconut (toasting optional)*
  • 3 C. old fashioned rolled oats (not steel cut. You could use instant, but I wouldn’t recommend it)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Brown the butter

To brown the butter: add two sticks to saucepan, on low to medium heat. Let butter melt, then it will froth/bubble up, stir it with spatula in order to prevent burning. The bubbles will die down and the butter will start to crackle. The proteins of the butter are sinking to the bottom and after a second bubbling, the bits on the bottom will start to turn a little brown and the butter will change to a more amber color. This whole process will take about 4-5 minutes. Don’t burn the butter, we want it browned. Remove from heat and transfer melted butter and brown bits to a bowl to cool while you assemble the other ingredients. I set my bowl of butter next to an open window, which speeded up the cooling down process. (As I’ve mentioned before, we don’t want to add hot butter to the eggs because we don’t want scrambled eggs).

Combine flour, salt, baking soda, spices in a bowl, set aside.

Once browned butter is cooled, add it to the bowl of a stand mixer, along with the sugars, mix until nice and smooth, which is 2 minutes or so. Add the vanilla, molasses and eggs and beat for three minutes until it’s light and smooth in texture. Then add the flour mixture and beat until combined. (PS-don’t do what I do sometimes and accidentally switch the mixer speed to medium or high, or else you’ll be covered in flour [it WAS funny at the time]. Start slow and then increase the mixer speed. Add the coconut, mix well. Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, add the oatmeal and chocolate chips (and pecans if using).
I used a 2 tsp cookie scoop for the cookies because I thought a 1 1/2 TB scoop was too big. But, use whatever you prefer. Allow a couple inches between the cookies. You’ll want to gently flatten the cookie balls and add a sprinkle of fleur de sel to the tops. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on them as you want the cookies to just be slightly brown around the edges. Once out of the oven, let cookies rest for 5 minutes, then cool on racks. Cookies will last a week in an airtight container…well, unless you have a Cookie Monster around.

*As I was talking about this recipe with G., I thought that toasting the coconut and then pulvarizing it using a spice grinder would be a good idea. That might be a more complex flavor element. Ah, next time!

Coconut Lime Bread

I love coconut: fresh, shredded, coconut milk, water–it doesn’t matter. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why I had bought this (unopened) 6oz. bag of unsweetened, shredded coconut that I found in my fridge. I thought, ‘Was it for cookies? Cupcakes?’ Honestly, I have no clue. I got inspired this morning and I knew that I wanted to make more bread, because, well, I’m on an easy-peasy recipe kick lately. Easy, as in I don’t have to use my Kitchenaid mixer. Don’t get me wrong, I love that mixer, but if I can get away without using it at times, then cool. It’s a more hands on baking experience for me. I like lime zest/juice in this recipe. I think you could also make a lime syrup and top it, or, toasted pecans would be a nice addition as well. Now that I think of it, you could reduce the sugar and add a mashed banana too or, some applesauce for sweetness. I’ll have to experiment some more with this and get back to you. Ooh, maybe next time I’ll add some blackberries!.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray or Crisco.

  • 2 and 1/2 cups All Purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon (I used Vietnamese cinnamon)
  • 1 C. sugar (I think you could get away with 3/4C.)
  • 2 C. sweetened or unsweetened flaked coconut (I used unsweetened)
  • 2 eggs, large
  • 1 and 1/4 cups milk (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk. You could use another non-dairy milk too)
  • 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
  • Zest and juice of one lime (or more if you want)

Combine the first six ingredients in a large bowl. In another smaller bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla, milk and cooled melted butter together. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and mix with a spatula until thoroughly combined. Add mixture to loaf pan (at this point you can sprinkle some turbino sugar/sugar in the raw on top too) and bake for approximately 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick when inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a plate or wire rack to cool completely.

I think I could also use this recipe in mini loaf pans or in muffin tins too. I’ve been cutting the loaf of bread in half and wrapping up one half and putting it in the freezer and keeping the other half for myself in the fridge. It’s a nice addition to my morning cup of coffee.

Oh, and sorry for the lack of a picture, but my iphone photo wasn’t up to par.