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Today’s recipe is only the third cookie recipe to feel the mighty power of the Live Simply publish button. This means…
- I’m super picky about cookies.
- I don’t make cookies very often.
- This recipe is too good to keep to myself.
Since I spend the majority of my kitchen time preparing nourishing meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), I don’t prioritize making treats during the week. With that said, I have a request: please don’t tell my kids there are moms out there that bake fresh cookies after school, please! In our home, treat-making is generally reserved for a slow weekend. A time when the whole family can slow down and enjoy the process of making something special, as well as the end result: a sweet, homemade treat.
When it comes time to bake something special, particularly cookies, I’m a bit picky about the final product. When it comes to cookies, there are a few non-negotiable details that a cookie, and a cookie recipe, must possess:
- A cookie must be crunchy, soft, and chewy all in the same bite. You know that perfect cookie that satisfies every single one of those tasty characteristics in one single bite? Satisfying, right?!
- A cookie must be easy to make, AKA: no-fuss.
- A cookie must be made with decent ingredients that are easily found in my real food pantry.
I’ve played around with many different cookie recipes over the years. Some recipes have been keepers, and others have been complete failures. Only a few recipes have been share-worthy or make-again-worthy, generally due to the ingredients used and the final result.
Today’s cookie recipe is definitely in the share-worthy and make-again-worthy categories. In fact, just between you and me, I’ve made this recipe six times over the past few weeks. For testing purposes, of course, and tasting purposes. I even broke our weekend-only treat rule multiple times. These cookies made the extra weeknight dishes totally worth it!
What makes Oatmeal-Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies so share-worthy and make-again-worthy?
These cookies come together with just a few simple pantry ingredients: rolled oats, spelt flour (an ancient grain), pecans, shredded coconut, butter, brown sugar (it’s essential, I’ve tried maple syrup and honey without much success), and butter. The end result is a tray full of cookies that are soft and chewy with just the right amount of crunch. A cookie that reminds me of the goodness of homemade granola with a touch of Grandma’s famous oatmeal cookie “magic,” and the gooeyness of a classic chocolate chip cookie. There really is so much to love in every single bite, or 72 bites ;).
As you read through today’s cookie recipe, you may notice something different about how I wrote the final recipe. Over the past few months, I’ve started experimenting with using weight measurements versus solely relying on volume measurements (cups) when it comes to baking. For quite some time I didn’t buy into the whole “use weight versus volume amounts for baking” idea (hey, I’m an American!), but since playing around my scale, I’m a total convert.
My big AHA moment came after playing around with a bread recipe a few times, each time having a slightly different end result. I finally decided to weigh my major ingredients (mainly the flour). I found the variation in how much flour was going into my recipe, depending on the measuring cup I used, quite shocking. Since that moment, I’ve been playing around with the idea of including weight measurements in my baking recipes, particularly for the major ingredients. Today is the first recipe to include both weight (grams) and volume (cups). Hooray for progress!
Oatmeal-Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 10 TB butter room temperature
- 3/4 cup organic brown sugar 145 g
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats pulsed into flour, 150 g
- 1/2 cup spelt flour 78 g
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut toasted, 80 g
- 1 cup chopped pecans toasted, 110 g
- 1 cup organic semi-sweet chocolate chips 175 g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375F. If the pecans and shredded coconut haven't been toasted yet, place them on a baking sheet/dish. Once the oven reaches 375F, toast the pecans and coconut in the oven for about 10 minutes, until the coconut turns golden, stirring after about the five minute mark, if needed.
- In a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), beat together the butter and brown sugar. Once creamy and smooth, add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract. Beat the ingredients together for about 40 seconds, until creamy.
- In a food processor, pulse the oats until they are ground into a flour-like powder. There will still be a few chunks, but the oats shouldn't resemble whole oats after pulsing (about 1-2 minutes).
- Add the oats, spelt flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix the ingredients until combined. Add the toasted coconut, pecans, and chocolate chips to the dough. Make sure the coconut and pecans are cool before adding them to the dough. Mix just until the ingredients are combined.
- Scoop the cookie dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. I use an ice cream scoop. Make sure the cookies have plenty of room to spread while baking. Bake the cookies for 12-13 minutes, until they are golden brown on top. The cookies will crumble if they are immediately picked up. Let the cookies rest for about 7 minutes, then transfer the cookies to a cooling rack/surface.
Nutrition
Ingredient Notes:
The final shape of your cookies will depend on the temperature of your butter. If your butter is warm, the cookies will spread. If your butter is cooler, the cookies will look like little domes. Also, I measure my butter using tablespoons since that’s how it’s marked on the outside of the bar. 10 tablespoons butter = 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons. I use salted butter in this recipe, but you’re welcome to use unsalted.
Spelt flour is believed to have originated in the Near East over 8,000 years ago, eventually making its way into Europe, particularly Germany. The mildly-nutty tasting spelt berry is considered an ancient grain much like einkorn, and is even referenced in the Bible. The spelt berry has not been hybridized like modern-day whole wheat. Spelt has a lower gluten content than today’s whole wheat, making it easier to digest. Spelt is not gluten-free and should not be used by those with celiac disease or a severe gluten intolerance. Spelt flour may be found in most health food stores and some conventional stores.
Wow! Just ate these awesome cookies! Thank you! I just started baking with spelt, a 5 star recipe!
I’d love to make these today and have all the ingredients except for the spelt flour. Can you substitute that for all purpose?? Thank you!
Hi Mattie,
I think that should work. I haven’t tried but it should. You may need to add a few extra tablespoons of flour.
LS Team.
Any recommendations for cutting down the sugar on these bad boys?
Man they are delicious (had to sub whole wheat flour & walnuts b/c we were out of pecans & I’ve yet to find spelt flour affordable… but still :).
My husband is a conventional cookie man so he will be the final test. 😛
THANK YOU for sharing! It is so difficult to find nourishing GOOD tasting recipes these days!
I am so glad I discovered your website recently. I have been baking with Einkorn flour lately (both all-purpose and whole grain). I was thinking of trying these with Einkorn flour instead of spelt so I assume the whole grain would be closest? I know you said honey and maple syrup don’t work for this recipe, but I wanted to ask if you think coconut sugar would work instead of brown sugar? Thanks!
Hey Peggy, Welcome! I think you could make these with whole grain einkorn. I’m not sure how the final texture will be, but it’s worth a try! I think coconut sugar would work. The texture will probably be slightly different with the coconut sugar.
Thanks for the reply! I actually just pulled these out of the oven before seeing your comment. I went ahead with the whole grain Einkorn flour in place of spelt, and I used coconut sugar but 3/4 cup wasn’t the same weight as your brown sugar (which was probably packed) so I added a few dates to the coconut sugar until the weight was the same and processed in the blender. I also halved the pecans but stirred in dried cherries.
They turned out great! My cookies were smaller so they cooked much faster and didn’t spread much even though my butter was soft (could also be the changes I made, but yours look pretty thick anyway) so I flattened the rest of the cookies a little with a fork before baking.
My almost 3-yr old helped me and she and my husband are enjoying one now! My husband said they taste great and he is well accustomed to “regular” white flour sugary cookies.
That’s awesome, Peggy! Thank you for sharing!
Hi! I’m dairy free here, any suggestions on what to sub in for the butter?
Hey Stephanie, You could try coconut oil.
Hey there!
I just wanted to quickly thank you for the “skip to the printable recipe” link at the top of the page! I love reading the story behind recipes the first go-around, but the following times I make it, it’s nice to skip ahead.
Thanks!
Thank you for sharing, Kylie! I’m so glad you’re enjoying that feature!
Can’t wait to try these! Do you have any suggestions for a soaked grain version (similar to your soaked chocolate chip cookies)?
Hey Kristin, I bet you could use a process similar to that recipe. Just add a bit of vinegar to the soaking process, and maybe use the baking powder/soda amounts called for in the chocolate chip cookie recipe. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
Hi Kristin,
I was wondering if I could sub the coconut with something else?
Hey Serendity, Hmmm, you may be able to leave it out completely. I think the cookies will turn out okay without the coconut.
PS: this looks delicious.
Hi Kristin! I really encourage you to continue including the measurements! I think it allows your recipe to be more consistently a success in yours fans kitchens. Sally from Sally’s baking addiction converted my to weighing the ingredients because she includes the weight and, after making at least 15 of her recipes (and of course tedious baking recipes) I have ALWAYS had a perfect result. So it’s fun for the reader/fan and good business for you! 🙂
Thanks, Megan! I agree, weighing ingredients definitely helps with the success of a baking recipe since they rely on preciseness! Glad you’re enjoying the change :).