Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mini Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies.

April 4, 2012

Chewy cookies without butter? …. you don’t say.

I was skeptical.

Really skeptical.

I was scared. Or better yet: scuuuuurrrred.

But then I sampled quite a bit of dough. And my fears suddenly subsided. Weird.

What is it about coconut that makes it so… springy? Springy as in like, the season. Not as in an actual spring. You know.

Is it an Easter thing? Mother Lovett always made a coconut cake or an orange coconut cake around this time too. It must just be a life thing. Like one of those really important pieces of information that your mind collects along the way.

Either way, I don’t really care. I flip for coconut.

I had no idea if the whole I’m-out-of-butter-but-let’s-put-coconut-oil-in-cookies idea would turn out. The thought had rolled around in my brain for quite some time, but… it seemed a tad too good to be true. But I love when I’m wrong. Sort of?

These cookies came out lovely – soft and chewy, a hint of coconut, a bite of melty chocolate… and the perfect size for snack popping. I don’t discriminate when it comes to cookies – sometimes I crave thin and crispy while other times it’s soft and chewy. These = soft and chewy.

Plus, they’re obviously mini. That’s another life thing: mini things don’t count calorically. Luckily I gathered this knowledge long ago.

Mini Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

[slightly adapted from giant rainbow cookies]

makes 40 mini cookies

3/4 cup coconut oil (measured solid), melted and slightly cooled

1 cup loosely packed brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon coconut extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cups shredded coconut

2/3 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large bowl, whisk together melted coconut oil and sugars. Let sit for 15 minutes. Whisk in egg, egg yolk and extracts, mixing until completely smooth. If any brown sugar chunks remain, I simply pounded them with my whisk and kept stirring! Add in 1/2 cup flour, baking soda and soda, stirring to combine. Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring to bring it together. It may seem crumbly, but continue to stir and even use your hands. It will come together. Finally, fold in coconut and chocolate chips.

Take 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of dough and roll it into a ball, placing it on a nonstick baking sheet. Place dough about 1-2 inches away from each other. Bake for 7-8 minutes, or until just set. Let cool completely.

Note: you can leave out the coconut extract if desired. You can also make these as normal sized cookies.