coconut & cranberry cookies

there were many reasons why i had to think a million times before baking these cookies. A MILLION!! (i am using CAPS and you know i don't like to use CAPS)...okaylah, maybe NOT a million, but close to a million. okaylah, maybe not even close to a million, but there were a lot of reasons. okaylah...maybe not that many of a reason, maybe just three. haha!

one, i have never, NEVER (my my...aren't we generous with our CAPS today...) NEVER baked anything with coconuts because...i don't know...coconuts....cookies...somehow i feel that they don't mix well, you know? when i think of coconuts, i'll think of santan. there.

two, i have never tried anything, NEVER tried anything with cranberries. the only other time i had anything with cranberries were the time i had the cranberry scones at CBTL. that was the only time and it was just a so-so experience. i liked it...but i didn't like it enough to repeat, you know?

three, i DON'T LIKE separating eggs. seriously, i HATE (again with the CAPS) separating eggs. while i was prepping the ingredients for these, i was actually seriously contemplating of using a whole egg in this recipe. who would know, right? but then again, in the name of experimenting, i decided to just separate the dayum egg already, just for that ONE yolk. and...because i'm not that good at separating eggs...i ended up cracking three eggs instead of the only one yolk required. so, guess who'll be having omelette for lunch? :-p

okay, okay...fine. i'm sure you'll want to know what i think of the cookies, right? well, to me it is something definitely new. the texture is semi chewy and semi crunchy, i think the desiccated coconut had something to do with it. it's a taste that i'm going to have to acquire, i think. BUT, one change that i will make, should i decide to bake these again, is that i will definitely increase the amount of cranberries. as i was scooping the cookie dough onto the baking sheet, i could see a few sorry pieces of cookies lacking the cranberries, you know. so, i had to do what any (in)sane baker would do, i went to the fridge, got more cranberries out and just sorta stuck 'em into the dough. sad...but true.

will i be making these again?...mmm...only if i can find egg yolks sold separately in the market...or, what the heck, i'll just use a whole egg and see if there are any difference in the  taste and texture. hey, all in the name of experimenting, right? ;-)

alrighty folks, here be the recipe:

you will need:

225g butter, softened

140g caster sugar

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

2 tsp vanilla extract

280g plain flour

pinch of salt

40g desiccated coconut

60g dried cranberries

the how to:

1)  pre-heat the oven to 190C° (i set mine at 175°C) and line two baking sheets with baking paper, or parchment paper.

2)  put the butter and sugar into a bowl and mix well with a wooden spoon. (i used my Giant because hand no work no more), then beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract.

3)  next in goes the flour that has been sifted with a pinch of salt into the butter, sugar and egg yolk mixture.

4)  after that mix in the coconut and cranberries and stir until thoroughly combined.

5)  scoop up tablespoons of the dough and place in mounds (i don't know why in mounds) on the prepared baking sheets, spaced well apart.

6)  bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.*

7)  leave to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, then, using a palette knife, carefully transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

*i baked mine for only 9 minutes and they were done.

**if you use a 3" ice-cream scoop you will get around 40 cookies.

luck-luck guys and lemme know how these turn out!

recipe source:  Cookie Jar by Parragon Books Ltd.