Recipe: Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Coconut Cookies

CHOCOLATE CHUNK OATMEAL COCONUT COOKIES

"When it comes to cookies, we prefer chunks of chocolate to chips. The irregular shapes and sizes of hand-chopped chocolate mean that some pieces melt and ooze while others hold their shape. Throw in some toasted almonds, sweet tendrils of coconut, and nubby old-fashioned oats, and you have what just may be the ultimate oatmeal cookie."

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose fl our
2 1/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups finely shredded unsweetened dried coconut
12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch chunks (about 2 cups*
3/4 cup unblanched whole almonds, toasted and chopped

Put racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter two large baking sheets.

Beat together butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Beat in vanilla, baking soda, and salt.

Beat in flour at low speed.

Stir in oats, coconut, chocolate, and almonds.

Place 1/4-cup mounds of dough about 3 inches apart on baking sheets (about 8 cookies per sheet), then gently pat down each mound to about 1/2 inch thick.

Bake cookies in batches, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets for 1 minute, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

The cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

*You can use packaged chocolate chunks instead of cutting up the chocolate yourself.

Makes about 2 dozen large cookies
Source: Gourmet Today: More than 1000 All-New Recipes for the Contemporary Kitchen by Ruth Reichl (Editor), 2009