Cookie recipe puts spin on a favorite
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just make a better wheel. That’s a phrase you’ll hear from me in the kitchen, and such is the spirit of one of my favorite cookies, the lovingly named Cocoshmoe or coconut oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Is it a recipe I came up with? Hardly. Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are nothing new, but I wanted to take my own spin on them.
I found a trusted oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe and began making substitutions while thinking about what I wanted out of this cookie structurally. I like a thick, chewy cookie. Oats are great at soaking up available liquid and lending themselves to a great chew. Unsweetened, shredded coconut does the same, while adding a unique flavor. Then I went with brown sugar here as it controls the amount of spread in a cookie better than white sugar. Under-creaming the butter and sugar creates a denser cookie, as well.
Coconut and rum are a classic pairing, so I swapped the traditional vanilla extract for some dark Caribbean rum. Add the right amount of dark chocolate and the result is one of my proudest achievements: the Cocoshmoe.
Do not overbake these. Most of the time, we’re trying to bake cookies until they are just starting to show golden around the edges. With the Cocoshmoes, it’s important to not quite go that far. These will firm up as they set.
COCOSHMOE
YIELD: 18 cookies
INGREDIENTS
½ c unsalted butter, room temperature
⅔ c dark brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 t rum
¾ c all-purpose flour
½ t baking soda
¼ t salt
¾ c old-fashioned oats
¾ c unsweetened coconut, shredded
¾ c dark chocolate chips
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Cream butter and sugar using a stand mixer or electric beaters until they form a paste, scraping down the bowl often.
2. Add egg and mix, then rum and mix.
3. Mix together flour, baking soda and salt separately, and then add to the butter mixture.
4. Mix until just combined. Add oats, coconut and chocolate. Mix until combined.
5. Scoop to desired size (two big tablespoons) and chill in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
6. Bake at 350 degrees until almost set (10-12 minutes). Cool completely and store in plastic bag.
Dan Moe is a Chef Instructor at Flathead Valley Community College’s Culinary Institute of Montana. For more information, visit fvcc.edu/culinary