Coconut Date Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies

Greetings, from my hometown! It remains unclear how long will be my California stay, but needless to say it will be filled with citrus and strange fruits if it carries on much past this week. In the meantime, there isn’t much that needs to be justified about these pudgy little oatmeal sandwich cookies that I made in Baltimore last week—they’re delicious, and so stupid cute. Melissa Clark gets it right again, as always, by adding some toasted coconut and swapping out the classic but insipid raisin for a totally charmed handful of dates. Dark brown sugar, as it should be, and honey, as I love it to be, round out the sweetness profile, and this cute little cookie is stuffed with a roly-poly rope of filling that really brings it all together. You may be stuck whiling away your winter in the sun or even stuck under a pile of snow, but either way, these cookies belong on your counter and in your belly—make ‘em today!

Coconut Date Oatmeal Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling

Adapted from Melissa Clark

Yield: 24 2-inch cookies, enough for 12 sandwiches

Only thing is, the photo of Clark’s recipe shows her cookies are as being much thinner. Mine turned out nice and thick and domed—I have no idea why—and I didn’t change much except to toast the oats. They’re undoubtedly good either way! I also cut her recipe in half, and I used a different filling that didn't require mascarpone (because I'm poor)!

Coconut Date Oatmeal Cookies

40 grams shredded sweetened coconut flakes

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

165 grams packed dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

95 grams all-purpose flour  

4 grams fine sea salt

½ teaspoon baking powder

4 grams ground cinnamon, divided

130 grams rolled oats

50 grams dates, pitted and chopped

30 grams granulated sugar, for rolling

Cream Cheese Filling

Yield: enough to fill the recipe above!

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

3 ounces unsalted butter, softened

1.5 ounces powdered sugar

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.  Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread coconut flakes and oatmeal on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast, stirring occasionally, until coconut is lightly colored and both oats and coconut are fragrant, seven to ten minutes. Set aside to cool. Raise oven temperature to 375 degrees.

2.  In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until light. Beat in brown sugar and honey, then beat until very fluffy, about five minutes. Beat in the egg until well mixed, then vanilla. Scrape bowl.

3.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder and one gram of the cinnamon. With the mixer set on low, beat flour mixture into butter mixture until combined. Mix in the oats, dates, and toasted coconut by hand. Be certain that everything is evenly combined!

4. In a small bowl, stir together granulated sugar and remaining three grams cinnamon. Roll heaping tablespoonsfuls of dough into balls, then roll balls in cinnamon sugar; transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of space between dough balls. Flatten tops just a little bit, and bake until cookies are golden brown, about 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool in the pan for two minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5.  Make the filling and assemble: Using the electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in sugar and vanilla until mixed, scrape down the bowl, and beat again until filling stiffens up, about five minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Pipe or scoop one to two tablespoons of filling per sandwich onto half the cookies; top with remaining cookies. (I preferred more filling to less, duh!) Assembled sandwiches will keep packaged in the fridge for several days. Clark warns about them becoming soft if filled and not eaten, but I liked ‘em that way.

Coconut Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting

Last weekend was a weekend of cravings ignored and answered. First on Saturday morning, cake donuts infiltrated my dreamscape (sprinkles too) and prodded me awake with the hope for donuts and coffee. It is a combination that's so very unobtainable to a tired-eyed girl on a snowy Saturday morning, but a craving so acute that I'll be splashing around with hot oil and a splatter guard in the near future. Then there was a barbeque chips vs. brie vs. chocolate dilemma at the store; it ended poorly, and my self-preservation is prompting me not to recount. Then came a good and proper craving that I could master and that wouldn't involve Joey whispering devilishly in my ear to just get all three. And as much as taste, this recipe answered a craving for textures.  Airy cake with fluffy frosting and hunky shards of flaked coconuts, and well...

Coconut Cupcakes
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes
Makes between 16 and 18

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut, packed
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg whites (so four whites all together)
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup or so large-flake unsweetened coconut, for tops of cakes

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cupcake tins with 16 liners to start.  Mix all dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

2.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about two to three minutes.  Add eggs to butter one at a time, beating after each addition, then add whites and beat.  Measure coconut milk, and add vanilla to the same measuring cup.  Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in three additions, alternating with coconut milk mixture and ending with dry ingredients; whisk after each addition until just incorporated.  Scrape sides of bow to make sure batter is evenly mixed.

3.  Fill cupcake tins 2/3 full, and bake for 20 to 23 minutes until domed tops are springy to the touch and cake testers inserted in the centers come out clean.  Turn out of tins and let cool on wire racks.  Frost (recipe follows) one at a time, sprinkle large-flaked coconut on top, and serve immediately.  These are best the same day, but will keep at least overnight, covered.  I didn't manage to let any stick around longer than that to see what happened.

Marshmallow Frosting
Classic recipe, with more frills according to Martha Stewart, less according to Joy of Cooking

2 large egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 light corn syrup or golden syrup (the latter will lend a more caramel- or honey-like taste)
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1.  Combine all ingredients and a pinch of salt in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water.  Beat at high speed with an egg beater for six to seven minutes, or until frosting is thick and fluffy.  Remove from heat and continue to beat until slightly cooled.  Use the same day.