These Coffee Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies are an upgrade on your regular choco chipper. Who knew the addition of shredded coconut and coffee could have such an effect?!
Being on lockdown can be psychologically difficult for some, but from my point of view, this is the best opportunity to do some of the things you’ve always wanted to do but always found yourself too busy to start. There’s that book you’ve been meaning to get to, or that new watercolor set you’ve been meaning to start experimenting with. How about the 1000 piece puzzle gathering dust in your closet? Or have you tried that recipe you bookmarked ages ago? (Although in my house I’ve been trying to refrain from baking because my mother asked me not to use too many eggs lol.)
The thing that seems to be the favorite lockdown activity however has been cleaning. And in cleaning, many people have been unearthing old things that transport them to another time and place. Just the other day, my kindergarten teacher sent me a photo of little me with my class from the year 1996. No doubt she had found it during her own cleaning escapade.
I couldn’t believe I still recognized half the people in the photo. Although most of us went to the same school until high school, I never became classmates with about 90% of the kids in the photo. But I did see them around growing up and it kind of surprised me how many of them actually didn’t change a lot appearance-wise. The photo made me wonder though, how they are all doing now.
I can’t remember the exact story behind the photo even if I tried, and yet I couldn’t help but get a smile on my face looking at it. I’m guessing it must’ve been taken after some sort of kindergarten year-end performance, of which there are a lot of when you’re a cute kid. Half of the kids in the photo were dolled up and wearing sparkly dresses (me included), while the other half were in PE uniforms. We looked so innocently happy. I suddenly found myself grappling for that same feeling I could see painted so clearly on their faces; on my own face.
Growing up, most of us sober up too in the process, and whatever bright idealism we felt as children gets chipped away little by little. Reality is harsh, and I feel like this entire thing with the virus proves that point quite effectively. But then, there’s also beauty in reality if you look closely. The grown-up kind of happiness is entirely different from the child-like wonder I see in the faces of the children in the photo. And sometimes we need a little reminder from the past to make us realize this. There really is value in revisiting old memories.
I guess this is one of the reasons why I personally find value in revisiting old recipes as well. Considering how much time I’ve spent working on this blog in the past years, a lot of the things I’ve written about here have some form of personal connection to me now. I remember, when I first started this blog– actually when I first started baking altogether– this recipe for Coffee Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies was one of the first things I ever made. It was also one of the first things I ever loved and favorited as a budding baking hobbyist.
Making them again after so many years, it hit me that they taste as good as I remember. I learned a lot in the past few years and adapted some better techniques as I made these Coffee Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies, but they turned out the same flavor-wise as that first time. The biggest difference is that I now take better photos, use better chocolate chips, and I now know what to press on top to make the cookies look and taste better. (More choco chips and sea salt, of course.)
When I bit into these Coffee Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies once again, I still get that dose of coffee and caramel, mingling nicely with the chocolate taste. If you sprinkle salt on the cookies, the flavors do intensify so it’s something to consider. My only mistake this time was not packing in more shredded coconut, because it lacked the coconut flavor I was looking for. I distinctly remember it being a bit more coconut-y before. Nonetheless, the highlight flavor here is really the coffee. It really worked its magic here both in terms of smell and flavor.
Enough talking! It’s time for you to learn how to make them.
Recipe notes
First off, I just want to stress that the shredded coconut for this recipe is crucial and worth the trip to the supermarket for. (If not, what would be the point of making these Coffee Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies?) Shredded coconut is different from desiccated coconut. This recipe won’t work the same if you use desiccated coconut because you won’t get those juicy bites of coconut with the dried desiccated kind. (So I guess with the current situation, this means these cookies will be bookmarked for future reference?)
[CHECK OUT ALSO: My Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe Collection]
This Franklin Baker brand is the only brand of shredded coconut available in supermarkets as far as I know. While I’ve encountered this in SM Supermarkets and Landmark Supermarkets every once in a while, the only supermarket I’ve seen consistently carry it is Uni-Mart. You can probably use the fresh unsweetened shredded coconut available in the wet market, but the shelf life of the cookies might be a little shorter. I have never tried though so I can’t say for sure.
For the first step, as always, we cream together the butter and both kinds of sugar. This recipe has just a little more white sugar than brown, but thanks to the addition of coconut and the bit of moisture it brings, the cookies stay chewy in the center but are rather firm on the outside.
After the butter and sugars become light and fluffy, we add the eggs, one by one, mixing until combined, before mixing in the vanilla.
Now you get this lovely mixture that is both kind of sticky and wet, but still fluffy at the same time.
In another bowl, it’s time to mix together all your dry ingredients. Make sure to properly mix the dry ingredients before adding it slowly into the butter mixture. Fold everything together until just combined. Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so that no big pockets of flour remain unmixed. Stop mixing once you see minimal pockets of flour in the dough because you will need to work the dough more once the add-on’s are poured in.
The shredded coconut and chocolate chips go in together, and you mix it just until well distributed. The good news is this dough needs no refrigeration so you can go straight to scooping them onto your baking sheet.
I used a tablespoon measure ice cream scoop for these, and placed them about two inches apart. They won’t spread crazy much, so press them down just a bit, then press pieces of extra choco chips on top to prettify. I sprinkled salt to half of them and left the other half as is.
These Coffee Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies can be baked from anywhere between 15 to 20 minutes, depending on your preference for how soft you want the center to be. Once the edges of the cookies look set, they should be fine to take out of the oven. I tend to bake them for around 18 minutes. They will be soft out of the oven but will firm up once cooled.
I didn’t wait too long for these to cool down before digging in, and the thing that I found was that I didn’t use enough coconut, which was a bummer. That’s good news for non-coconut lovers, but I personally would’ve liked a little bit more. In the past, I made this recipe using a bigger scoop, and this time since I used a smaller scoop, I made a lot more cookies. The smaller cookies posed an even bigger danger however. They become easier to pop into your mouth one after the other.
Coffee Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 30 using a 2-Tablespoon scoop and 48 if using a 1-Tablespoon scoop
Ingredients
- 1 cup 225 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup 170 grams packed brown sugar
- 1 cup 210 grams granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups 420 grams all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons instant coffee or espresso powder
- 1 cup 175 grams chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks
- 3/4 cup at least 70 grams lightly packed sweetened shredded coconut*
- More chocolate chips, to top
- Flaky sea salt, to top
Instructions
- Set two racks in the middle part of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. (You can also use an electric mixer with the paddle attachment.) Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and the coffee powder until well combined. Slowly add this mixture to the butter mixture and use a spatula to mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Fold in the chocolate chips and coconut just until distributed into the dough.
- Drop by rounded tablespoon-fuls onto prepared baking sheets, spaced at least an inch apart since the cookies don’t spread too much. (I used a small cookie scoop.) Press down on the dough gently to flatten and smooth it out a little, then place a few pieces of chocolate chips on top of the dough mounds if you want to make the cookies look pretty. Sprinkle with just a touch of sea salt.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges. Rotate the pans up and down, front to back, halfway through the baking time. The cookies will still be slightly soft in the center but it will look set around the edges. Let cool on baking sheets for at least 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
If you’re addicted to chocolate chip cookies like me, check out my Chocolate Chip Cookie Collection!
This recipe is included in this round-up video of 3 Coffee-Flavored Cookie Recipes to try!
Other recipes in this video:
Enjoyed this post? Do follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube for more. If you try this recipe, don’t forget to let me know if you enjoyed these as much as I did!
