Yesterday I made our neighbors a batch of cookies as a thank you gift for helping me take care of a lost dog on Thanksgiving. I’d planned on chocolate chip, but wanted to do something a little more special, and made a version with buttery toasted nuts and coconut. Perfect timing! Because later that day I got a package from Diamond Nuts reminding me of their 100 anniversary contest, Gift of Gather. The prize includes “the gift of travel”, so you should definitely check it out if you have an old family recipe that calls for nuts.
But back to my nutty recipe. This is a cookie where nuts pretty much “make” the cookie.
They are toasted and tossed with butter so not only do they add flavor, they balance the cookie’s sweetness – something that you can’t do just by reducing sugar, because the sugar is what gives the cookies their chewy texture. I used pecans, but walnuts would be just as good. Since the cookies have such a chewy texture, you might even be able to use roasted, salted, almonds.
Update: I gave one of these cookies to my dad. Ten minutes later he called from the road to say how great it was. He never does that, so consider it a vote for the cookie.
- 1/2 cup whole pecans, use a little more if you like
- 1 teaspoon unsalted butter
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 cups flaked coconut
- 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, cool room temperature, cut into chunks
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large cold egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (6.8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 11/4 cup extra dark or dark chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil.
- Place pecans on the baking sheet and bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until they start to release their oil (become shiny). Remove from the oven and toss with the teaspoon of butter. Sprinkle with salt and let cool. Chop.
- Wipe the rimmed baking sheet clean and lay the coconut on it. Toast for about 6 minutes or until it is golden around the edges. Let cool.
- In large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cool butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar until creamy. Beat in the egg and vanilla until they are combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- By hand or using lowest speed of the mixer, stir in the flour mixture.
- Add chocolate chips, toasted pecans and coconut to the dough and stir well.
- Using a (generously!) heaping tablespoon, scoop up 15 mounds of dough. You can bake them immediately, or scoop them onto a foil lined tray, chill, and bake as needed.
- Arrange about 3 inches apart on foil-lined baking sheets. Bake one sheet at time for 12-14 minutes or until cookies are golden brown.
- Let cool on baking sheets for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
I love how brown and toasty the cookie looks. I’m really going to make these tonight. I was going to try to wait till this weekend, but your dad’s endorsement did me in.
I have already chopped nuts.. I am assuming they’ll take a bit less time to toast.
So did you chill your dough? I love the way your cookies look
Erin, it’s possible he was just super hungry, but he rarely calls from the car to praise a cookie. The neighbors also sent a text saying the cookies were “beyond awesome”. Then again, I mixed them with some other ones, so they could have been talking about those.
Lizzie, I emailed you a response, but for anyone else reading this, the nut-toasting time always vary. If they are chopped, they will probably take a little less time. The key is the butter tossing. Also, the cookies in the photo were made with chilled dough, but the ones I made without chilling the dough were very similar. Since the butter is very cool and the egg is cold, the dough should be fairly thick and cool. I liked the texture of the chilled dough a little better (as usual), but the immediate gratification ones weren’t too shabby.
These look so good! If I didn’t have a bunch of just baked cookies I might run to the kitchen to try them.
Tell your neighbor “thank you” from me.
Wow! Those look great. I’ve already printed the recipe and put it in my TBB (to be baked) file. Hopefully during my grad school winter break, I’ll have time to tackle my TBB and my TBR (to be read) piles!
Huge hit! Your dad was right on the money! Thanks for another great one, Anna!
Yum! What a great treat!
Do you think that sweetened shredded coconut would work? Or would it be too sweet?
I made them today. They are great. Toasting the coconut really makes a difference.
My regular choco chip flatten too much. These stayed nice and fat.
I did chill the dough.
These look scrumptious! Love the tossing of the nuts with butter!
Just made these and they are delicious! Thanks for a great recipe!!
I made these this evening and they are a HIT!!! Very attractive, super tasty, and great texture. YUM!!! Happy New Year!
Im gonna try these tonight! they look so yummy..and..they just look so good. How do you get them like that? I’ve seen pictures of chocolate chip cookies like that before..but mine never look like that..
Here are a few tips:
1. Make sure your butter is not too warm or too soft.
2. Beat the egg just until it is mixed in.
3. In some cases, using cold eggs helps.
Good luck!
This will be the next cookie recipe I try. I have been trying a few recipes off Pinterest but yours are consistently better so I’ll stick with your recommendations!!!
Great recipe! One question – can you make ahead and freeze the dough?
Hi Jen,
And yes! You certainly can.
These cookies look amazing. I like a more hefty chocolate chip cookie, rather than the thin spreading kind. I had never thought to add coconut to them. Great idea!!