Toasted Coconut White and Dark Chocolate Cookies

My current obsession is coconut. Toasted coconut to be specific.

Coconut seems to one of those love it or hate it ingredients. I know people who absolutely love it while other absolutely detest it. I fall in the former category. I decided to put together a dark chocolate cookie with bursts of white chocolate. After a bit of testing, I got it right – a chewy cookie with crispy edges and the warm nuttiness of toasted coconut.

Btw, I have a still have a bottle of coconut syrup from my trip to Hawaii last year. I should really do something with it…

Toasted Coconut White and Dark Chocolate Cookies

Makes…a lot.

Ingredients

3 cups fancy coconut (or shredded)

2 oz dark chocolate

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

3 Tablespoon glucose

1 egg, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ½ cups bread flour

¼ cup cake flour

¼ cup + 2 Tablespoon cocoa

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup white chocolate chips

Directions

1.  Lay coconut on a baking sheet and bake in a 300 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Watch carefully and toss as the edges of pan get brown to ensure even toasting. Set aside to cool. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Melt chocolate over a double boiler. Set aside.

3.  With a beater attachment of a standmixer, beat butter for a minute until fluffy. Add both sugars and glucose and beat for 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.

4.  Add egg, vanilla, and melted chocolate and beat for 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl.

5.  In the meantime, sift both flours, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda into a bowl.

6.  Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low until the mixture just comes together.

7.  Add 1 cup of toasted coconut and white chocolate chips and mix until just combined.

8.  Scoop dough with a 2-inch scoop and roll in the remaining coconut. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 14 minutes or until the edges are firm.

9.  Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes before cooling on a rack.

 

Toasted coconut.

Dough portioned out with the BIG scooper.

Verdict: These are one of my favorites now. A perfect balance of textures and flavours. This makes a large batch so feel free to cut the recipe in half, or portion out the dough and freeze it for a craving. You know what you’ll find in my freezer!

For all you Canadian readers, these cookies remind me of Tim Horton’s toasted coconut chocolate timbits, especially before baking!

Pretty Fail

Baking fails are so frustrating. You’re wondering why I haven’t posted for a few weeks. It’s not that I wasn’t baking, it’s that I’ve been experimenting and failing. Oh, and trying to get good natural lighting for shooting. It meant that I would run home from work and then try to shoot in the last few minutes of sunlight. (Maybe I should invest in some lights…)

But spring is finally here, and with it more daylight hours for photographing! I wanted to make a cake that represented spring and although the outside turned out pretty, the cake was a complete bust. It was dense, rubbery, and kind of dry. And it was full of tiny holes. When I suggested throwing the entire thing out, the fiancé said I should bring it to work, but when he took a bite, agreed that it had to go straight into the trash.

The good thing is that I didn’t making the cake for any occasion or for a gift or potluck. I made it for me – as in I wanted to make a cake for experimenting and practicing. Which is why I didn’t get upset when it failed. Apparently, I would’ve been upset for a week had it been meant for someone/something.

Anyways, thought you’d like some photos. Can you detect the density of the cake?