May 10, 2021
We finally seem to be entering into the warmer weather half of the spring season this week. April is usually when the weather begins to warm up in Ohio. Although, this year, the weather in April was still a bit unpredictable. With May fully underway, the temperatures are heading back in the warmer direction just in time for both Kevin and my birthday. I was able to celebrate my birthday earlier last week by recreating one of my favorite treats from my time living in Chicago – Chicago mix popcorn with a twist. Kevin’s birthday is just a few days from my birthday. To celebrate his birthday (and the warmer weather we’ve been experiencing), I decided to pack a bunch of our favorite foods for a picnic for two. Growing up, picnics were one of my favorite activities to do with family and friends. I would often pack a few sandwiches, some lemon bars, crunchy chips or crackers, bottled water and tea, and head straight for the beach with some friends. Some of my favorite childhood memories were spent enjoying light picnics at Brighton Beach. I often wouldn’t realize how much time has passed until the chill begins to fill the air and the sun begins to set. Since moving to Ohio, I often try to recreate some of those fond memories by picnicking with Kevin. When the cold weather subsides and the warmer weather begins to fill each and every corner of our home, I just had to pack my favorite treats for yet another picnic. Featured on my spring picnic menu are turkey club sandwiches, baked fries served with spicy ketchup, grapes on the vine, minty lemon tea, and my coconut white chocolate cookies. The inspo for the turkey club sandwiches came from a cross between the club sandwich I would order from McAlister’s here in Ohio and the heroes I grew up eating from the delis near my childhood home in Brooklyn. Baked fries with spicy ketchup replace the usual chips dipped in ketchup I would eat along with my favorite sub. Fresh fruit and lemon tea are two other must-have items for a picnic. The final sweet, baked component has to be my white chocolate chip coconut cookies, a deviation from the beloved chocolate chip cookies I usually pack with me. My white chocolate chip coconut cookies have slowly become a favorite treat in our home. The cookies feature a blend of soft pastry flour, nutty almond flour, tons of coconut components (coconut flakes, coconut sugar, and coconut oil), and white chocolate chips. They are super portable for a picnic and can stand in warm or cool weather for prolonged periods of time. I started making these cookies a couple months ago when working to develop yet another cookie recipe. I played around with different combinations of flours (including quinoa) until I came across the perfect combination of pastry and almond flour. Toss in tons of coconut flavor components and some white chocolate chips and my white chocolate chip coconut cookies were born. Slowly and surely, these cookies became a favorite in our household – mainly because of how addictingly good they are. Kevin describes the cookies as being reminiscent of oatmeal raisin cookies minus the raisins. To me, the cookies taste a bit like the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies sold at Potbelly’s. The nuttiness of the almond flour combined with the distinct tropical flavor of coconut really helps these cookies shine. The combo of almond and coconut also gives the cookie a beautiful shade of golden-brown color when baked. The addition of the white chocolate chips to the cookies adds another layer of sweetness and a visually stunning contrast against the golden-brown cookie. All of the flavors and components of the cookies combined together packs a delightful punch into such a small treat. These little treats are the perfect sweet gems to end a spring picnic. May is a special month for both Kevin and I because both of our birthdays just happen to land in the same month. We start the month off with celebrating my birthday and then shift to celebrate Kevin’s birthday. Both Kevin and I prefer a low-key celebration and so the natural choice of celebration was a picnic.
For the white chocolate chip coconut cookies:
· ½ cup pastry flour
· ½ cup almond flour
· ½ teaspoon baking soda
· ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
· ½ cup coconut sugar
· 1 tablespoon coconut oil
· 1 large egg
· ¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
· ¼ cup white chocolate chips, divided
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2) In a bowl, combine the pastry flour, almond flour, baking soda, and kosher salt. In another bowl, add in the coconut sugar. Sprinkle the flour mixture into the coconut sugar. Mix in the coconut oil and large egg. Fold in the unsweetened coconut flakes and half of the white chocolate chips. Mix all of the ingredients together until a wet dough is formed.
3) Divide the dough into about eight equal pieces. Roll each of the pieces of dough into a ball. Place each of the balls of cookie dough about an inch apart on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Press the remaining white chocolate chips all over the balls of cookie dough.
4) Transfer the baking sheet with the balls of cookie dough into the preheated oven. The cookies will begin to spread as they bake. Bake the cookies until they turn golden, about 13-15 minutes.
Takeaways: The cookies also pair beautifully with milk, semisweet, or dark chocolate chips. For softer cookies, 13 minutes seem to be the magic number. For firmer cookies, I usually let them bake the full 15 minutes.