Coconut oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

These coconut oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are a delicious combination of a soft, chewy cookie with crisp edges and flavorful additions. They're easy to make and well loved in our house and beyond.

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Growing up in the UK, I was more familiar with shortbread and British-style biscuits rather than American-style cookies as a kid. That was until we had a family move to our area from the US and the mom came in to our class and taught us how to make chocolate chip cookies. No surprise, it was a favorite lesson and we all took the recipe home to make again.

I still have a soft spot for that classic, but these days I tend to prefer cookies with a bit more texture to them. And so these chocolate chip cookies with oatmeal and coconut are the perfect compromise. In fact, I'd argue they're an upgrade. They're loosely based on one of our go-tos at a local cafe but slightly adapted to our tastes.

They have everything I love about chocolate chip cookies - the melty pieces of chocolate when they are still warm, and the mix of soft, chewy middle and crisper edges. But they have more texture and flavor to them from the other additions.

It's a sweet, flavorful, textured sensation! AKA a really tasty cookie.

Much as I love making cookies from around the world, like Basler brunsli (Swiss chocolate almond cookies) and cuccidati (Italian fig cookies), especially when I get called for bake sale contributions, it's good to have something that appeals to the kids as well as more adventurous tastes. And these absolutely do. Add to that the fact they're quick, they're a fantastic go-to bake.

Ingredients for coconut oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

These cookies need a pretty straightforward list of ingredients, with the name giving away a few of them:

• Flour - regular all purpose flour/plain flour is the base for these.
• Butter - this adds to the flavor and texture. Use unsalted butter as you will also be separately adding salt. This way, you know can control the salt level.
• White and brown sugar - you use a combination of both to get a tasty balance of texture and flavor, as in many cookies.
• Butter - this acts as a binder and adds to the texture.
• Sweetened shredded coconut - this adds a lovely flavor and texture. I recommend sweetened coconut as it's a softer, more moist texture that mixes in a little better.
• Oats - these add a great texture to the cookie. I use old fashioned oats, aka rolled oats, as they give just the right level of chunkiness without being too firm.
• Chocolate chips - another tasty mix in! I used semi-sweet chips here, but bittersweet or even dark would also work.
• Vanilla extract - this both adds flavor and brings out the flavor in other ingredients.
• Salt and baking soda - these help give a slightly lighter texture.

Making these cookies is easy, as you simply cream together the butter and sugars, mix in the egg and vanilla, then add the flour, salt and baking soda. Then, fold in the mix-ins - the coconut, oats and chocolate chips. Scoop, then bake!

A few tips

It's worth softening the butter a little before you start to make it easier to cream with the sugar - but you can do this by simply chopping and leaving it out while you measure the other ingredients. Otherwise, you don't need to wait around at all. The dough doesn't need chilled unless it feels particularly soft as you scoop.

I recommend using a silicone baking mat, or parchment, to help make them easy to remove from the baking sheet after baking.

These do spread a little as they bake so make sure you leave a bit of space between the scoops of batter. Round off the scoops a little, if needed, as while they spread, there's only so much they adjust. Little bits sticking out will probably stay sticking out. They don't have to be perfect, just relatively balled together.

Bake until they are starting to crisp on the sides - you should see the color change a little. They will still be soft in the middle, though dry on top. Let them cool a couple minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool further. While it's tempting to dive in, give them a few minutes to firm up some more.

I know some people might add the odd chocolate chip on top after baking, since they tend to sink a little and it can make them look a little prettier. But honestly, I find them just fine as they are - it's kind of a nice surprise to discover how much tastiness is indide.

Adaptations and storage

I really like the combination here and highly recommend them just as they are. But, you can try some adjustments if you like. You could add in more oats and/or also add in some chopped nuts such as pecans or walnuts. They would add even more texture to the cookies and make them a little heartier.

If you feel like a slightly fruity element, try some dried cranberries or raisins. You could add some butterscotch chips in there too for more, varied meltiness.

These go pretty fast in my experience, but if you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They'll keep a few days, given half a chance.

I've also frozen part of a batch for longer storage. You can freeze cooked cookies (ideally with parchment between layers, in a sealed container or freezer bag), but you can also freeze scoops before baking. Place them on a lined baking sheet and freeze, then transfer the frozen scoopfuls to a freezer bag or container. Then, bake from frozen, giving them a minute or two longer to bake, and enjoy that fresh made flavor and melty chocolate.

These coconut oatmeal chocolate chip cookies are such a great combination of textures and flavors, and speedy to whip up, they really have so much going for them. So tasty, they're a favorite here for good reason - I hope you'll enjoy them too.

Try these other easy cookies:

• Pignoli (pine nut cookies, with a fantastic chewy texture and studded with pine nuts)
• Persian walnut cookies (nan-e gerdui, wonderfully sweet and tasty but just a few ingredients)
• Oatmeal date cookies (these are actually refined sugar free, so on the healthier side, but don't be put off - they're a delicious and sweet little bite)
• Plus get more snack recipes, both sweet and savory, in the archives.

I'd recommend using a Silicone Baking Mat on top of a Half Baking Sheet to make these. (affiliate links)

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

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