Almond Joy Cookies
Who doesn’t love coconut!?
Just kidding, I know that it’s either a love/hate thing. Not many people fit right in the middle.
Lucky for me, I love coconut and these cookies hit the right spot. I think it’s the Italian side of me loving the almond flavor, but the coconut just compliments it so well.
Oddly enough, I hated the candy growing up. Well, I can’t say that – I didn’t try it until I was in college. I had the perception that I didn’t like coconut. Well I could not have been more wrong!
These cookies really have the perfect blend between the almond extract, coconut and chocolate. Plus, the cookie has a great consistency that is nice and thick, with some chewiness coming from the coconut, and then the melt-in-your-mouth chocolate.
For the Dough:
As always, I think the most important part is creaming together the butter and sugars. With this recipe, I love using coconut oil because I think it adds another layer of that coconut taste and gives the cookies a super chewy consistency.
After adding in the second round of ingredients, the mixture should be light and whipped with a beautiful aroma with the almond and vanilla extracts.
I know that the recipe then calls for 2 1/2 cups of flour, but you’ll really need to adjust it based on how the dough is forming. I like to add flour until the dough is starting to pull from the sides of the mixer, sometimes closer to 3 cups.
Once you have the consistency that you are looking for, add in the toasted coconut and chocolate chips. It’s important that the coconut has the time to cool before adding to the dough because it can and will ruin your dough if it’s too hot. I normally toast the coconut and put it on a paper towel to cool while I’m making the rest of the dough.
If you’d like, you can use a spatula or spoon for this final mixing to keep the coconut in larger pieces. I’m normally too lazy and just let the mixer do its thing for a couple seconds.
I highly recommend using a small ice cream scoop to form the balls. This is for a couple of reasons. First, is so we have consistency with the size, so that all the cookies cook at the same time. Second, is you don’t have to roll the balls between your palms for certain dough’s. This cookie dough is just one example of scoop, and then go straight into the oven. It will ensure that the cookie is a little thicker than pushing it down a little.
Bake for 8-10 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until the edges just start to turn slightly brown. The coconut oil is going to bake differently than butter, so if the edges are more than golden brown, they will be crunchy. I like to pull them out of the oven when the outer edges are just starting to transition, and let the remainder of the cooking process happen outside the oven on the tray for ~5 minutes.
Rest on a wire rack before transferring to a serving plate, or a container for storage!
Almond Joy Cookies
AuthorIonaPreheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place the coconut on a baking sheet, and toast the coconut until the edges start to turn golden brown. I like to stir mine every couple of minutes so that it's evenly browned. Cool for a couple of minutes before adding to the dough.
In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the butter, melted coconut oil, and both sugars until nice and light.
Add in the vanilla extract, almond extract, baking soda, and salt until fully mixed. You might have to scrape down the sides a couple of times.
Slowly add in the flour until the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Finally, add in the toasted coconut and chocolate chips until the mixture is evenly dispersed.
Scoop the cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet, and bake for 8-10 minutes. The edges will be very slightly brown and the middle will be opaque. It will finish cooking on the cookie sheet.
Allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for ~5 minutes, then move to a wire cooling rack.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place the coconut on a baking sheet, and toast the coconut until the edges start to turn golden brown. I like to stir mine every couple of minutes so that it's evenly browned. Cool for a couple of minutes before adding to the dough.
In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the butter, melted coconut oil, and both sugars until nice and light.
Add in the vanilla extract, almond extract, baking soda, and salt until fully mixed. You might have to scrape down the sides a couple of times.
Slowly add in the flour until the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
Finally, add in the toasted coconut and chocolate chips until the mixture is evenly dispersed.
Scoop the cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet, and bake for 8-10 minutes. The edges will be very slightly brown and the middle will be opaque. It will finish cooking on the cookie sheet.
Allow the cookies to rest on the cookie sheet for ~5 minutes, then move to a wire cooling rack.
Enjoy!