[Cookie 076] Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies

It's good to be home. I feel like I'm at rehab or something: the weather is perfect and there is nothing to do but recover from my debilitating cold and stressed out mental state (and last week's drug addiction). I've still got to unpack a few boxes, but I've found time to lounge out in my backyard under the oak tree with a beer and In Defense of Food, the book you all should read. Oh, and I managed to squeeze in a quick baking session too, obviously.

Seconds after I stepped foot into my lovely house, I walked into the kitchen and began to nose around to assess the current food situation. Nuts? Check. Dried fruits? Check. Oh hey, white chocolate chips! And coconut (albeit, rather...aged). Wait, no cocoa powder. Hmm. A quick trip to the supermarket can fix that. We've got an overabundance of butter that needs baking, so let's hop to it!

Upon seeing the white chocolate and coconut, these Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies came to mind right away, in part because I have The Book nearly memorized by now. That's either really impressive or really pathetic, and I think you can guess which one. Anyway, seeing as their recipe is posted right next to the White Chocolate Chunk Cookies I thought they would be equally amazing. Not really the case, unfortunately.

The recipe is stupid easy: just throw everything together, basically. First mix the wet ingredients, then the dry, then combine slowly. Stir in some other stuff. Drop heaps onto your baking sheet. Bake. Eat. Meh. Flavor-wise, these are pretty lacking. Maybe it's because I was forced to use Hershey's cocoa powder because my supermarket is completely awful and decided to no longer sell Scharffen Berger. But regardless, the cookie was thoroughly mediocre and definitely nothing to write home about. I enjoyed making them because I got to use my awesome oven which isn't 100º off balance (like my dorm one was), and my KitchenAid, but other than that it was a pretty forgettable experience.

Yeah, not the best review. Whatever, can't win 'em all right? Right. Don't worry about it, I'm already getting ready to make something else. Until then, I'll just chill out and drink this insanely spicy ginger beer and eat the most amazing granola I just made. Life is good right now. Happy Summer.

Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies

Makes about 5 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 cups white-chocolate chunks (about 9 ounces)
• 1 3/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 3/4 cups coarsely chopped walnuts, (about 6 ounces)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put butter and sugars in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in vanilla.
2. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl. Mix into butter mixture on low speed until well combined. Stir in chocolate, coconut, and walnuts.
3. Using a 1 1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop batter onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Flatten slightly. Bake until set, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool on sheets on wire racks 2 minutes. Transfer cookies on parchment to racks to cool completely. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 1 week.

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{End Results}
Baking Difficultly: 1/5
Ingredient Accessibility: 4/5
Tastiness: 2.5/5
Attractiveness: 2/5
Is it worth it?: Nah, not really. You can find an equally simple recipe that will yield far tastier results. These are good if you want chocolate!

{Pairings}
Drink: Nothing...?

Song: Catholic Pagans -- Surfer Blood (to get you ready for summer!)
Activity: Give these cookies away, grab a beer and a book, read about 2-3 lines of text, then fall asleep.