Recipe

Chewy Browned Coconut Butter Cookies

by Tim Chin

For me, one of the most gratifying experiences as a cook is working with a completely new ingredient and coming up with something delicious. After discovering that store-bought coconut butter—a concentrated, jarred puree of dried coconut meat—could be slowly browned to produce a tahini-like paste with the intense flavors of toasted coconut and toffee, I knew I had to use it in a cookie. Here I achieve the crisp-chewy texture of a good sugar cookie and the toffee-like flavor of my favorite chocolate chip cookie. Without using butter. Or eggs. Or even vanilla. In fact, this vegan cookie contains only six ingredients (plus a little water). With very little to stand in its way, the browned coconut butter flavor is front and center. This cookie is craggy and crispy at the edges, chewy in the center, and bursting with toffee-like toasted coconut flavor. I’m not even a cookie person, and I’d eat this one by the dozen (even if my job didn’t already require me to do that). To learn more about the science of coconut oil (and other cooking oils), check out our feature story, Striking Oil.
Photography by Steve Klise
Food Styling by Marie Piraino

Yield
16 cookies
Ingredients
214 g all-purpose flour
3.75 g baking powder
3.5 g baking soda
3 g salt
265 g brown sugar
175 g browned coconut butter
100 g water
  Flake sea salt
1½ cups (7½ ounces) all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1⅓ cups packed (9⅓ ounces) brown sugar
¾ cup (6⅛ ounces) browned coconut butter
6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons water
  Flake sea salt
Essential Equipment
Instructions
    • 214 g all-purpose flour
    • 3.75 g baking powder
    • 3.5 g baking soda
    • 3 g salt
    • 265 g brown sugar
    • 175 g browned coconut butter
    • 100 g water
    Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees F/177 degrees C. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl. Whisk sugar, coconut butter, and water in large bowl until well combined and smooth. Using rubber spatula, stir flour mixture into coconut butter mixture until just combined.
    • Flake sea salt
    Divide dough into 16 pieces (about 47 grams each) and, using your hands, roll into balls. Evenly space dough balls on prepared sheets. Using bottom of drinking glass, flatten dough balls until 2½ inches in diameter. Sprinkle with salt and gently press tops with bottom of drinking glass to help salt adhere.
  3. Bake, 1 tray at a time, until edges are set and just beginning to brown, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating tray after 7 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely. (Cooled cookies can be stored in airtight container for up to 5 days.)
Instructions
    • 1½ cups (7½ ounces) all-purpose flour
    • ¾ teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 1⅓ cups packed (9⅓ ounces) brown sugar
    • ¾ cup (6⅛ ounces) browned coconut butter
    • 6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons water
    Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees F/177 degrees C. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl. Whisk sugar, coconut butter, and water in large bowl until well combined and smooth. Using rubber spatula, stir flour mixture into coconut butter mixture until just combined.
    • Flake sea salt
    Divide dough into 16 pieces (about 2 tablespoons [1⅔ ounces] each) and, using your hands, roll into balls. Evenly space dough balls on prepared sheets. Using bottom of drinking glass, flatten dough balls until 2½ inches in diameter. Sprinkle with salt and gently press tops with bottom of drinking glass to help salt adhere.
  3. Bake, 1 tray at a time, until edges are set and just beginning to brown, 15 to 17 minutes, rotating tray after 7 minutes. Let cookies cool on sheets for 5 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and let cool completely. (Cooled cookies can be stored in airtight container for up to 5 days.)
Close

Cook’s Science Newsletter

Sign up for our newsletter and be the first to learn about new stories, get behind-the-scenes looks at our research and testing, and score exclusive recipes.

Welcome to the community!

Keep an eye on your inbox for the sauce recipes and for our regular newsletter. Thanks for joining us!