I know I’ve claimed before that a cookie isn’t a cookie without dark chocolate. Boy, WAS. I. WRONG. These gluten-free Chewy Cherry Coconut Cookies will prove that to you too– if you’re a disbeliever like I was.
If you’ve always thought in order for cookies to be good, they must have that whole cup and a half of sugar in them (yikes! some cookie recipes have an equal amount of sugar to flour), I dare you to try these. Packed full of nutritious oatmeal, walnuts, cherries, and coconut, there isn’t much to not love about these– and the natural sweetness of those ingredients allows these to be made with 1/6 of the sugar in typical recipes. Two of these cookies have less sugar than the average store bought granola bar (not to mention, a much healthier ingredient list).
We’re a “cookies in the freezer” – at all times – kind of household. And the Toll House recipe isn’t something I would feel good about feeding my loved ones on a regular basis. And thinking about this little one in my belly– I can’t wait to spoil him with healthy, whole foods, and teach him to love real food.
To keep cookies a uniform size, and to help scoop this sticky cookie dough, I use a round tablespoon (measuring spoon). I dip it in water, then pack cookie dough into it, and it slides off onto the pan. Since melting butter and sugar is what causes typical cookies to melt down into flattened shapes, these cookies won’t spread on their own. After the dough is scooped, I use the bottom of a glass (wet), or wet fingers, to press the cookies down. I left these pretty thick, because super chewy was the goal.
This little one might be spoiled with more than just freshly baked cookies and delicious, milkshake-tasting smoothies. I am absolutely addicted to shopping at Oshkosh. Western brands of clothing are pretty expensive here in Malaysia- up to 4 times the cost of buying it in the US, so I have been buying a ton of things and shipping it to my mom’s house. She has been telling me to stop for a while now. My room at home is covered in baby clothes and items for his nursery that would just be difficult, expensive, or impossible, to buy here. She is coming in August, and will be packing some pretty heavy suitcases.
Alex has been in Australia visiting his family for the past 2 weeks, and he called excited to tell me the other night he found a pirate piggy bank for the nursery. I love that Alex is also getting in to the theme.
In case you missed it– check out my nursery Pinterest board to see the plan. Boats are a big deal to this family 🙂
And cookies. Cookies are a big deal, too.
Contents
Gluten-Free Chewy Cherry Coconut Cookies
Ingredients
Dry
- 1 1/2 cups walnuts divided
- 1 1/2 cups oatmeal
- 1/2 cup coconut
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 cup tart dried cherries
Wet
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees f.
- Add walnuts to a lined cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- Remove walnuts to cool, and raise oven temperature to 350 degrees f.
- Add oatmeal and 1 cup toasted walnuts to a food processor bowl, and process until a coarse flour forms, bring careful not to over process and turn the walnuts into nut butter.
- Add the other dry ingredients, except for cherries, and mix.
- In a small bowl, add all the wet ingredients, and mix well together.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and pulse 6-10 times, until flour is all wet.
- Roughly chop remaining ½ cup of toasted walnuts.
- Add cherries and chopped walnuts to food processor bowl, and mix in with a spoon.
- On a lined cookie sheet, scoop dough into balls, and then press down into desired thickness. I left mine on the thick side.
- Bake for 11-12 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.
- I highly suggest storing in the freezer! I love them directly from the freezer, and they become even more chewy.
Nutrition
I love cookies with fruit in them…I had to check these out. They look wonderful…pinning so I can try them later! Have a great weekend…sounds like you’ve got some fun planning going on, congratulations! The pirate theme sounds adorable!
Soft and chewy cookies are a weakness of mine, even if they do not have chocolate. I hope you made a big batch as I am sure baby is going to start kicking to let mom know they want more…maybe even start pulling on that umbilical cord to put in their requests. LOL Sharing, of course!!!
Thanks Bobby! I have 2 batches in the freezer, and gave a batch to my girlfriend who is nursing her 3 week old baby today 🙂 I have so many pregnant and nursing friends right now- snack food at hand is a must! It’s hilarious to go out to eat with them– we all used to be so conservative, small meals– now we are ordering extra meals to share! This baby making business is hard work.
The coconut and cherry combo in these cookies are perfect. My family loves them