Tropical Oatmeal Cookies (Made with Coconut Oil)

If you go to “Welcome to Eliot’s Eats,”  you will read that the impetus for this blog was to grow it local, buy it local, and eat locally.

Although we still try to do this as much as we can (considering our poor gardening experiences this summer), truth be told, this blog may be more about homemade cooking with as much locally sourced ingredients as possible.  That is where we are today, anyway.

As I have previously written, we are fortunate enough to be able to buy flour that is milled in our state.  So, that covers most all baking, right?  (I am trying to rationalize, so bear with me.)

Obviously, the oats, mangoes, coconuts, and ginger that go into this cookie are not locally anything.

So, here is my new rationale for the blog:  make it homemade with as many local (and/or healthy) products as possible. 

I spent most of the morning making granola, homemade granola, get it?   And I love the Coconut Mango Granola featured on Liv Life.  (I have made it often.)   But, I was in a cookie baking mood as well.

I decided to make some oatmeal cookies with mango and ginger and utilize coconut oil for perhaps a healthier treat.

I started searching the internet because I have never used coconut oil in baking (and I don’t think granola counts here).  I found a great sounding recipe for Carrot Oatmeal Cookies that utilized coconut oil  from 101 Cookbooks.

I took some inspiration from this recipe (like using whole wheat flour and ginger flavors), but in the end, I decided to modify the standard recipe from the oatmeal box.

Here is what I came up with:

Tropical Oatmeal Mango Cookies

3/4 c. coconut oil
1 c. light brown sugar, packed
1/2 c. raw cane sugar
2 t. vanilla extract
1/4 t. almond extract
1 large egg
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c.  all-purpose flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. fine sea salt
3 c. old fashioned oats
2/3 c. whole almonds, pulverized in blender or food processor to a meal-like consistency
1 T. crystallized ginger, chopped
6 oz. dried green mangoes, chopped
1/4 c. water

Cream together coconut oil and sugars.   Add almond extract and vanilla.  Add egg and beat well.

In  a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, and sea salt).  Carefully add dry ingredients to cookie dough and mix until just combined.  Add oats and carefully mix.

Add in almonds, ginger, and mangoes and mix.

When I first made Liv Life's granola, I had a hard time finding dried mangoes. So, when we were in KC and went to Trader Joe's, I stocked up. I love these to snack on.

Add water and mix until a workable dough forms.

The dough will have a shiny like texture.

Drop by tablespoonfuls onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silpat.  (I always use an ice cream scoop.)

Drop by whatever size you like.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15-17 minutes.  Remove and cool on wire racks.  Yield:  24-32 cookies (depending on the size).  I ended up with 27 cookies using the medium scoop.

I was trying to capture the chewiness of the cookie by photographing the half. (Plus, I wanted a taste!)

My hubby came home from bee class (more about that later) and said he tasted the coconut immediately in the cookie.  I think it is a lot subtler than that.  I was hoping for more ginger and mango tastes.  I wonder if you refrigerated the dough overnight if that would help meld all the flavors.   I will try that next time.

So, here’s to homemade treats with local flour!   (That is as locavore as this dish gets.)

 

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