And Now for the Cookies

 I’m feeling a bit rusty at this food blogging thing, so bear with me, folks.  We’ll start with something easy, like cookies.  They’re easy to make and easy to love.

Actually, I should probably back up and ask you this: have you bought a bag of coconut flour?  Because I think you should.  It’s a fun ingredient to have in your pantry.  It’s silky in texture, with a subtle, enjoyable coconut aroma.  It doesn’t knock you over the head the way that shredded coconut can—it’s coconut that has matured to become a team player.  I love the stuff.

I bought my first bag out of curiosity and then turned to the interwebs for ideas on what to do with it.  What would we do without the internet to solve our problems?!?  We’d be much less well-fed, for sure, and we wouldn’t have this recipe for coconut flour chocolate chip cookies.  I tweaked my version of them right off the bat because I was inspired by a bag of Meyer lemons.  I felt like such a foodie the day I bought them.

I’d never seen them before in my small town, and I was beyond excited to bring them home.  Having procured such previous fruit, I didn’t want to waste them, so I decided to add some Meyer lemon zest to my cookies.  I love the combination of chocolate and citrus, and I think lemon plus chocolate is like a best-kept secret in the food world.  It’s one of my favorites.

When I made my first batch of the recipe I’ll share with you today, I loved them, but I wasn’t sure that Paul would.  They’re denser than regular chocolate chip cookies, with less of a buttery flavor.  Someone recently described them as having a pastry-like texture, and I think I know what they mean.  They aren’t crumbly per se, but inside your mouth they melt like a scone might.  In other words, they aren’t chewy, they aren’t fragile, and they seem kinda sturdy when you bite into them, but they have a lovely delicateness that makes them unforgettable.  In April, when Paul and I were at the Austin Open, after hours and hours of dancing, the organizers set up a table with cookies and other refreshments on them.  Paul was exhausted, and when he saw the table so far across the dance floor from him, he moaned sadly about being unable to get up to fetch a cookie.  I told him I’d brought those chocolate chip cookies he liked, and as I opened the container and he reached in to take one, he said, ever so sweetly, “I love you.”  To the cookie.  He told the cookie, “I love you.”

{I love you too.}

Or at least that’s what it looked like to me!  I love that story.  Weeks later, as I was once again handing out sweets, he reached in to take one, and as he did so, he looked up at me, looked me right in the eyes, and said, “I love you.”  It was so funny.  I love that, the way our moments together build on each other, the way quirky little things we do become running jokes that make us giggle later.  The thing is, I love these cookies too, so I don’t really blame him for confessing his love to my baked goods.  They’re terrific.

Happy baking, friends.  Happy sixth birthday, little blog.

Coconut Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies

Adapted from this recipe

Makes a dozen cookies

I list the citrus zest as optional, but I would be really sad to leave it out.  It makes these cookies pop with flavor.  Also, these cookies are grain-free!  Perfect for your gluten-free friends or anyone who enjoys baking without grain-based flours.

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup coconut flour

2 tbsp. almond flour

1/8 tsp. or a big pinch of salt

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp. semisweet chocolate chips

Finely shredded zest of one lemon (Meyer or regular—orange zest would be nice too)

1)  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper.

2)  In a mixing bowl, stir together the butter and sugar.  Beat in the eggs.  In a smaller bowl, stir together the coconut and almond flours and the salt, breaking up any clumps with your spoon or fingers. 

3)  Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture, then add the chocolate chips and lemon zest.

4)  Shape the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter and place them on the prepared baking sheet.  Press them down a bit with your palm or use a fork to make a cute criss-cross pattern.  These cookies won’t spread, so shape them as you wish before baking.

5)  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes, then remove them to cool on a wire rack.  Eat!  These cookies keep nicely for at least two days at room temperature in a tightly sealed container.

Whew, that food blogging thing wasn’t so hard after all…