Black & White Coconut Cookies.

I feel like I should preface this blog post with the fact that I have managed to munch my way through 4 (that's right, 4!!!) of these magically moreish cookies in the past 23 minutes. Seriously, if I hadn't made them myself I would of sworn they contained crack.

I don't often make cookies, I can never seem to get them just right. I like my cookies chunky with a slight hint of chewiness to them. Every time I have tried making them I've ended up with a thin overly chewy creation, or a thick, short, crumbly biscuit. I just haven't found the perfect formula.

These cookies are pretty darn close to perfection for me, and strangely get even better with age!

The key ingredient in this recipe is Coconut Oil rather than butter. I have been seeing coconut oil popping up all over the place recently, beauty bloggers are raving about its moisturising qualities for both skin and hair, food bloggers are all over it in baking and popcorn making. So when I saw a jar in Holland and Barratt I thought I'd see what all the fuss was about.

The way some people talk about this stuff it sounds like a cure-all for just about everything. I tried it on my hair, it was alright, smelled amazing but I didn't notice a massive change in texture or shine. I tried it on my body... again it was nice, smelled amazing, made things feel softer.

By far my favourite use for it so far has been these cookies, I reserve the right to change my mind when I try the popcorn though.

If you've got a great coconut oil recipe, please share it in the comments!

The coconut oil has a wonderful subtle coconut flavour which in addition to the desiccated coconut really makes this recipe special. I used three types of chocolate in my cookies but it would totally work with just one, its very adaptable.

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Black & White Coconut Cookies by November-29-2013 This recipe makes 12 large cookies or around 18 smaller ones.
Ingredients

125g Dark Chocolate
135g Plain Flour
15g Desiccated Coconut
30g Cocoa Powder
1 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
half a teaspoon Salt
125g Coconut Oil
75g Light Muscavado Sugar
50g Caster Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Large Egg
200g Chopped White and Milk Chocolate (or you can use chips if you prefer)

Instructions Preheat the oven to 170CStart by melting the 125g of dark chocolate. Cream the coconut oil and sugars together, I used my Kitchenaid for this, but you can do it by hand. It took about 2-3 minutes in the mixer.Add the melted chocolate to the oil/sugar mixer and combine.Mix in the egg and vanilla extract next and beat until combined.Sift in the dry ingredients followed by the chopped chocolate pieces.Pop your dough in the fridge to firm up slightly before shaping.Roll into equal sized balls and press down on the top lightly, they spread in the oven so leave enough room between each cookie for spreading.Bake at 170C for 15-18 minutes, you want the cooking to still be slightly soft when you take them out, they will firm as they cool.

Now, if you'll excuse me I am off to dunk one of these bad boys into a cup of tea while I plan my Christmas menu for this year. I am totally not on the ball with Christmas food planning, so if you have any inspiration or advice please share it!

Also, I have it on good authority that Santa loves coconut, so these would be the perfect cookie to leave out on December 24th. Just saying.