Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

It’s no secret that we’re huge fans of baking with coconut over here at Taste of Home. From coconut cream pie to coconut cake, shredded coconut livens up a recipe with its tropically sweet taste, and these coconut chocolate chip cookies get the same treatment.

Coconut just adds that extra something to take an ordinary batch of chocolate chip cookies up about five notches. These cookies bake up into crispy edges with a chewy, tender center. Pools of melted chocolate and shreds of tropical coconut are traced throughout each cookie, resulting in a dessert that’s nothing short of paradise.

Ingredients for Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

• Butter: Room temperature butter creams together with sugar much more easily than cold butter, resulting in a fluffy creamed mixture that will produce gorgeous coconut chocolate chip cookies. Here’s how to soften butter quickly if you forgot to take your butter out of the fridge.
• Sugar: White sugar aids in sweetening the cookies and crisping their edges.
• Egg: Make sure you’re baking with room temperature eggs for this recipe. A cold egg hitting softened butter is a recipe for cookie texture disaster.
• Coconut extract: If you have trouble finding coconut extract, try adding an equal amount of coconut milk or cream of coconut to add some coconut flavor.
• All-purpose flour: All-purpose flour is the Goldilocks of flour for cookies. It’s not too delicate like cake flour, but not as glutinous as bread flour. It’s just right.
• Semisweet chocolate chips: Our Test Kitchen pros tested the best chocolate chips to bake with based on their appearance, texture and flavor and found that Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips were the best classic chocolate chips.
• Sweetened shredded coconut: Read the package very carefully to make sure you’re not grabbing flaked coconut instead of shredded coconut—the texture of your chocolate chip coconut cookies just won’t be the same!

Directions

Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer and cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, five to seven minutes.

Editor’s Tip: Five to seven minutes seems excessive, but our guide on how to cream butter and sugar shows just how effective that time can be. Creaming adds pockets of air that help puff up the cookies (and other baked goods) as they bake, resulting in softer cookies.

Step 2: Add the egg and coconut extract

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Beat in egg and coconut extract. Give the bowl a good scrape on the bottom and sides with a rubber spatula.

Step 3: Add the dry ingredients

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In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Beat the dry mixture into the creamed mixture until just combined.

Step 4: Fold in the mix-ins

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Use a spatula to fold in the chocolate chips and shredded coconut.

Step 5: Scoop the cookies

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Drop the cookie dough by rounded tablespoonfuls two inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. You could also use a cookie scoop to portion out more consistent dough ball sizes!

Step 6: Bake

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Bake the cookies until they’re beautifully golden brown, 11 to 13 minutes. Wait a few minutes to let the cookie bottoms set, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool to room temperature.

Editor’s Tip: Sprinkle some flaky Maldon salt on the tops of the cookies for a deeper cookie flavor and a gorgeous, professional-looking touch.

Recipe Variations

• Go for white chocolate macadamia nut: White chocolate chips, macadamia nuts and shredded coconut are a tropical-tasting trio! Swap the semisweet chocolate for white chocolate chips and fold in macadamia nuts, too.
• Mimic a Samoa: Isn’t this everyone’s favorite Girl Scout cookie? Samoas contain coconut, chocolate and caramel, so drizzle homemade salted caramel sauce on these cookies, or replace some of the semisweet chocolate chips with bits of caramel or caramel baking chips.
• Add in other mix-ins: Fresh raspberries or dried cherries would be an excellent pairing with the coconut and chocolate. You could also include toasted hazelnuts or pecans for a rich, nutty depth of flavor.

How to Store Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

To store, allow the cookies to cool completely to room temperature. Your chocolate chip coconut cookies should stay fresh and taste great for up to three days if kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

Can you freeze coconut chocolate chip cookies?

Yes, you can freeze coconut chocolate chip cookies. Allow them to cool completely to room temperature, then place them in a freezer-safe container or resealable bag. They can also be frozen for up to six months. Use these detailed tips for successfully storing your cookies.

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies Tips

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Can you use unsweetened shredded coconut in these cookies?

Yes, you can! But you’ll notice a slight difference in taste, and the texture of your cookies may also be a touch drier. Sweetened coconut is less dry because of sweeteners such as sugar or corn syrup.

Can you toast the coconut before adding it to the cookie dough?

Of course! Toasting the coconut adds a wonderful depth to the flavor of these cookies. Here’s how to toast coconut to evenly golden-brown perfection.