I've been looking for a cookie that would satisfy my hankerings as an afternoon snack with a hot cup of tea (while I angle my neck at my desk to watch Ellen). Granola bars and I had a nasty breakup a year ago when I noticed how much secret sugar they contained -- and I've been looking for a replacement that was slightly sweet and satisfying. These little babies are now just the thing to subdue my pre-dinner cravings, and without any guilt (hoozah!). I kept the batter simple, and it morphed into an exceptionally soft cookie, while the coconut and walnuts give it a nice crunch. The cinnamon, vanilla and brown rice syrup is my new favorite combination -- and it gives these cookies a satisfying, dainty sweetness without the sugar crash later on.
The trick to these cookies is to add enough milk to create a soft, spoonable cookie dough, and to remove them from the oven while they are still soft. Feel free to add raisons, pecans or other goodies if you want to a real granola-cookie experience.
Then try not to have these for breakfast. I, um, don't always succeed.
Coconut Walnut Cookies
Makes 18 cookies
2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 generous pinch cinnamon
1 generous pinch sea salt
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon shredded coconut
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown rice syrup
approximately 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1 cup + 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, sea salt and 1/2 cup shredded coconut. In a medium sized bowl, combine the olive oil, vanilla and brown rice syrup. Pour the oil mixture into the flour and mix with a wooden spoon until the batter is soft and crumbly.
Slowly pour in the milk and gently mix, until the batter is soft and spoonable. Stir in the 1 cup of walnuts. Form a tablespoon of batter into 3 inch balls, and place on the baking sheet topped with parchment paper. Gently press the cookie dough down with a spoon. Sprinkle on the remaining coconut and walnuts on top.
Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until lightly golden yet still soft. Remove and cool. Serve with tea or coffee.
yummy! these do sound like the perfect tea time cookie! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Char!
DeleteFinally, I can put my brown rice syrup to use. You have made my eating adventure in college fun without the guilt. Trust me, I learned my lesson with granola too. You should write a cookbook!
ReplyDeleteTHanks, Louie! Brown rice syrup is the best -- I use it in most of my baking. Check my other dessert recipes if you're looking for more ways to use it. :)
DeleteI LOVE coconut. I may have to try a gluten free version!
ReplyDeleteA gluten free version would work just fine, Becca! Let me know how that works.
DeleteAhh, the afternoon snack. I usually just end up having leftovers from lunch, like soup or something, but having a virtuous cookie kicking around would be pretty wonderful. Totally bookmarked!
ReplyDeleteI started having leftover lunch for snacks and I love it! It's so easy and mindless -- what a snack should be!
DeleteLove these wholewheat tea cookies. They look fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Angie!
DeleteI really love cookies with coconut! And these look really great! I also just made some cookies. Although they don't fall into the health category. (But I refuse to associate cookies with guilt, so it probably doesn't matter much ;))
ReplyDeleteCoconut Cookies are the best, I completely agree. And not every cookie should be guilt free-- that would be no fun!
DeleteAwesome! I’ve been debating about trying a healthier snack/breakfast cookie and you can’t go wrong with coconut.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Maggie! Having these little guys pre-made is so easy for a healthy snack/bfast cookie. I love them!
DeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteLast week I made these cookies and I loved them. I was a bit surprised because the ingredients are so simple and yet the cookies taste delicious - not dull /plain or flavorless! But I have a question: I used the 1/2 cup of shredded coconut that is in the ingredient list to make the dough, although in the description you mention to add 1 cup of shredded coconut. So, did you use 1/2 or 1 cup of coconut?
By the way, 1 cup of almond milk was way too much to add to my dough (luckily I added it slowly until the dough came together) - a whole cup would certainly drown the dry ingredients!
Thank you very much for this delicious recipe, that I will make again and again.
I wish more people would write a comment to tell if they have made the recipe and if it tasted good.
Hi Yvonne! Thanks so much for trying my recipe and for your feedback! I love these little cookies too - especially how few ingredients they need to be delicious. The "1 cup coconut" in the directions was an error-- thanks for letting me know so I could make the change for others. Also, I used almost 1 cup of milk, but I modified the amount in case I'm the enigma. Again, thanks for so much for your comment. You rock!
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