{Oatmeal Coconut Toffee Cookies}

Cookies are always a good idea.  For those long hard days, or when you simply want to enjoy a sunny afternoon, there aren’t too many better picker-uppers than cookies.  I always tend to gravitate toward the same type of cookies–chewy, moist, with a bite.  That usually means some kind of oatmeal cookie, which is probably why that’s the only type of cookie I seem to blog about.  And one of my favorite combinations with oatmeal is adding coconut.  It adds an extra level of chewiness and gives it a slightly tropical spin.  Pair this with a cup of milk–or a cup of tea for those balmy days–and they can melt my cares away.  (And then, later on, of course I feel like maybe I should go for a run to work off the cookies I just ate but that’s not the point here 🙂

Oatmeal cookies are also easy to make healthier.  I don’t truly believe that anything that isn’t naturally sweet is really healthy, but there are ways to make desserts a little less sinful than they need to be without sacrificing flavor.  As you may have noticed with a few recipes on my site, I’ve often used coconut oil instead of butter, almond meal or some other gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour, and coconut sugar instead of regular granulated sugar.  Oatmeal is actually gluten-free, so for those with gluten sensitivities, it’s one less thing to give up.  (If you are really sensitive to gluten, make sure the packaging says it’s gluten-free, since oatmeal that is packaged in a plant with other gluten products may get “contaminated”.  But oatmeal in and of itself is gluten-free).

I baked this batch of cookies for a good friend who just had a baby.  Up until giving birth, she had been carefully watching her diet–which also meant her baby shower was low-carb/low-sugar.  In other words, no cookies!  Now that she’s given birth, she’s adding a few treats back into her diet, so I thought I’d combine her love of toffee with some healthier oatmeal cookies.  I adapted this recipe significantly from The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook, since I thought the recipe from the cookbook provided a good base.  I used unbleached all-purpose flour, but I think this recipe would work well using some other whole-grain or gluten-free flour since the oatmeal is such a large component versus the flour.  Unfortunately, because the recipe uses volume measurement, I think my measurement of flour was slightly off so my cookies spread like crazy.  These ones in the pictures were among the better looking cookies.  Good looking or not, a cookie is a cookie, and they still brighten my day any day.

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{Oatmeal Coconut Toffee Cookies}

Ingredients

• 1-1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (or other gluten-free flour substitute)
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. sea salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 t. vanilla extract
• 2-1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut, toasted
• 1/2 cup toffee bits

Preparation

1. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
3. In another mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), cream together butter with the sugars, until smooth.
4. Mix-in eggs and vanilla, and mix for about 1 minute.
5. Add oatmeal and mix until combined.
6. Beat in the flour mixture, in 2 to 3 additions, then add the coconut and continue mixing.
7. By hand, mix in the toffee bits, also making sure the dough is mixed evenly.
8. Using a tablespoon, form balls of cookie dough about 1-1/2″ in diameter and place on cookie sheets, about one inch apart.
9. Bake each sheet of cookies about 12 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
10. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to allow them to cool completely.