Just the other day I got an email from the New York Times “What to cook this week.” Do you get them? They charge a subscription for their site but you can view the recipes in the email at no cost, at least for a while. They’ve become kind of a highlight for me, just a minute or two of reading editor Sam Sifton talk about food. One of the food items he mentioned recently was German Chocolate Cookies.
German Chocolate Cookies
My ears perked up. Or maybe my eyes did since I was reading. German Chocolate Cookies? I didn’t know there WAS such a thing as German Chocolate Cookies. But I knew I had to make them. A.S.A.P.
I did have a slight delay coz I thought I had coconut, but for the life of me couldn’t find it. I have been having the worst time with food storage…my shoulder and elbow are messed up so I can’t lift my arm high so have come up with various solutions…like sending my china to my daughter and using my china buffet for food, lol! Hey, it’s a conversation piece?
About German Chocolate Cookies:
These were worth the wait, though. But first of all, these German Chocolate Cookies are probably the ugliest cookies I’ve ever made. They are like lumps of chocolate/coconut goodness. What they lack in the looks department they make up for with an amazing taste. I had one cookie (ok, ok, I had two!) and packed up the rest for my son to take home.
He ended up stopping back over and I was like, “Hey, do you still have those cookies?” See how I played that? Very low key. While inside I was thinking “Please say yes, please say yes!” He opened the bag and I scarfed one down like a feral animal and then took a second to savor slowly. And Kraig joined me. German Chocolate Cookies really are a taste sensation, homely as they are!
German Chocolate Cookies
Baking/Storing German Chocolate Cookies:
When you bake German Chocolate Cookies, it seems like no real cookie baking rules apply. Just trust the timing. NYT says to bake the cookies until dry on top but still soft in the center – which seemed a little vague and strange.
I wasn’t initially sure what they meant and I thought maybe the cookies should be baked until the edges were set, but that batch was too well done. The next batch I cooked until the top had just skinned over and the cookies were pretty mushy looking and soft in the center (I know they SAID that, I just didn’t really GET it at first) and that batch was so much better. And I do emphasize that they’ll be soft out of the oven. Very soft. Almost like pudding.
NYT says to take that hot tray of cookies out of the oven and tap the baked cookies, on the sheet, on the counter. I did that a couple of times, but that did little to turn these rogue cookie-like lumps into a cookie…I even tried to flatten a couple with my hands, then a spatula. It just made them crack.
I also found the cookies turned a bit crispy & hard in places by the time evening had rolled around and Kraig had shown back up at my door. At that point, until I tasted them again, I thought maybe I might change this recipe up. Eating them changed my mind! I wouldn’t touch a thing in the recipe, just know that as the cookie ages it morphs and be accepting of them for what they are. You will be rewarded! Just don’t keep them around for days.
German Chocolate Cookies
Saving Money on German Chocolate Cookies:
Doing what I did, running to the store and picking up that coconut because I wanted it is the worst way to shop. It’s basically giving the store a “vote” that the price is a good one. It’s like buying a stock just because you want it, not strategically buying it at a low. When you shop carefully, buying items on sale, you can easily lower your grocery bill by close to half.
Baking goods are one of the best items to buy before just about any holiday, especially Easter, the Winter Holidays, with a few minor sales around Valentine’s day. Stock up when they’re on sale and use the glut of coupons available at that time. Even if you’re normally not a big coupon shopper, holidays have so many coupons that it’s practically a no-brainer to use them, and you’ll lower your overall bill even more.
Costco and Aldi are both great places to buy baking goods, too. Coconut, by the way, after it is open, is normally stored in my freezer where it will stay fresh for months. I also freeze any nuts I use. Butter goes in the freezer, too, and is another holiday score. Buy it in quantities to last you to the next great holiday sale. Flour and products containing flour are best frozen for three days when they come into the home to avoid “peskies.”
The original recipe called for using chopped chocolate but I just used chocolate chips and gave them a rough chop just to make sure there were pieces and slivers like you have with chopped chocolate.
German Chocolate Cookies
German Chocolate Cookies
Everything you love about German Chocolate Cake reduced to one homely but supremely delicious cookie.
- Yield: 24 cookies 1x
- Category: Desserts
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup/128 grams all-purpose flour
- ½ cup/47 grams natural cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons/113 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), at room temperature
- ½ cup/101 grams granulated sugar
- ½ cup/110 grams packed dark brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups/128 grams lightly toasted, sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup/170 grams chopped bittersweet chocolate
- 1 cup/119 grams chopped pecans
Instructions
Heat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla until smooth.
Reduce the speed to low and beat in the flour mixture. Add coconut, chocolate and pecans and mix to just combine.
Portion the dough in 2 tablespoon scoops and roll them into balls. Place them on parchment-lined baking sheets, at least 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies until dry on top but still soft in the center, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and immediately tap the sheets against a work surface to deflate them slightly. Let the cookies sit on the sheets for 3 minutes, then transfer them to a rack to cool completely.
Notes
Do not overbake! Bake only until the top of the cookie skins over and looks dry. Trust the timing. They will look very soft. The edges may not be set.
I ran short on pecans, so the cookies shown have fewer than called for in the recipe.
Keywords: Chocolate, Coconut, Cookies, Desserts, German Chocolate, new york times, Nuts and Seeds, Pecans
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I’ll be bringing my German Chocolate Cookies to Fiesta Friday #220, hosted this week by Jhuls, the NotsoCreativeCook (don’t believe that for a minute, you’ll love her blog) and moi! Yes, I’ll be visiting each post by every blogger on Fiesta Friday. Please stop by and take a peek, and if you’re a blogger, join in. We’d love to have you!
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