Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Dark Chocolate Cranberry Coconut Oatmeal Cookies




So, when I was in college, I not only played on the women's volleyball team, but I was also "team manager" during the men's season.  This meant I recorded stats and washed uniforms on road trips, I helped the coach during practices, and most importantly, I made cookies.

Before every road trip, I made several kinds of cookies and packaged them in little bags for each of the players.  I remember staying up late in the dorm common area, studying and baking cookies in
small batches in the lame dorm convection oven until the campus was quiet (you know it's late if a college campus is all sleeping). 

This recipe is an adaptation of the oatmeal-raisin cookies that often made their way into the road-trip goodie bags.  It's a little more sophisticated, with dried cranberries standing in for the raisins, and the additions of really dark chocolate chunks and coconut.  Chewy texture, deep dark chocolate, tangy cranberries....  perfect.

Guys, if you were here, I'd make you a batch.  Jump high, hit hard.....

The Step-By-Step


First, preheat the oven.  375F. Then, cream the butter with the brown and white sugars.



Add egg, water (I know, it seems weird to add water, but trust me, it works), and vanilla.



Beat that together well and then add flour and salt and soda.  Beat it all in.



Now add the oatmeal and the goodies.  Yum yum yum.....



Give the mixer beaters to the kids to lick, put the mixer away and stir up the dough with a spoon (you can lick the spoon yourself).  

If you don't give your kids the beaters to lick because of the raw eggs thing, that's probably for the best.  I read the Incas from Machu Picchu were wiped out due to a horrible cookie dough sickness.



Scoop the batter out onto pans in cookie-sized mounds.  Bake 12-15 minutes.



Pour yourself a glass of milk or a cup of coffee.  Savor a few chewy, delicious cookies.  Now go burn off the calories with a little volleyball.

The Recipe

3/4 cups butter or shortening, softened
1 cup brown sugar 
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 cups coconut
1 cup dark chocolate chunks (about 140 grams)
1 1/2 cup dried cranberries (about 170 grams)


Preheat oven 375F (190C).  Cream the sugars with the butter.  Add the egg, water and vanilla.  Beat til creamy.

Add flour, soda and salt.  Mix in thoroughly.  Add remaining ingredients, mix well.

Drop mounds of dough (about 2 Tablespoons each) onto cookie sheets.  Bake 12-15 minutes, until golden brown and not wet-looking.  Cool on the pan 5 minutes, and then move to cooling rack.  Store in air-tight container when completely cool.