The history of the cookie swap in this country is about sharing more than cookies. It’s about sharing recipes and stories and time as well. It’s about making your best and then giving it away, hoping that someone else will love it as much as you do. That’s why it was so much fun to participate in The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap to raise money for Cookies for Kids’ Cancer this year. This great organization encourages all bakers to “be a good cookie” and raise money to help end childhood cancers. The organization’s founders are fellow believers that a batch of cookies made with love really can change a kid’s life, so it was a joy to bake with them this year. For the big event, I tweaked one of our classic Little Flour cookie recipes by adding sweet dried bing cherries to our dark chocolate and toasted coconut cookie batter. The recipe makes eight dozen cookies so it’s perfect for cookie swaps, teacher thank you gifts, and sharing with friends. The toasted coconut infused dough is delicious and adaptable. You can use milk, dark or semi-sweet chocolate or a blend all three. Little Flour supporters love them with dried bing cherries this time of year, and that’s the way we made them for the swap, but you can also use blueberries or no fruit at all (as my true chocoholic family still prefers). No matter what you choose to add to the dough, the real fun is in giving them away. Enjoy!
- 3 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup softened unsalted butter
- 4 eggs
- 4 teaspoons vanilla
- 4 cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 14 ounce bag of coconut-toasted and cooled
- 8 ounces chopped dark chocolate
- 4 ounces dried bing cherries (chopped if very large)
- Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Beat in eggs one at a time until fully incorporated after each addition.
- Stir in vanilla.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in separate bowl then add to batter and mix just until incorporated.
- Mix in chocolate and coconut.
- Form dough into balls of about a tablespoon, place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, and bake at 350 about ten minutes until just beginning to turn golden. Let cool on cookie sheets a few minutes (the tops will crack a bit) then move to cooling racks.