As I mentioned in my last post, I have been experimenting using Coconut Oil as a shortening rather than butter. My first real attempt was to make a very simple change to the Nutella and Bran Cookies I put up a couple of weeks ago.

The result was amazing, and definitely better than my original attempt.

nutella and coconut cookies


This recipe is taken almost directly from this one at simply recipes.

  • 75g of coconut oil, room temperature
  • 57g of sugar
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
  • 120g of plain flour
  • 20g of desiccated coconut
  • 1/2 tsp of nutella per cookie
  • Parchment paper

METHOD

  1. Cream the coconut oil and sugar on high speed for about 3 minutes.
  2. Separate the eggs. Add the yolks and vanilla extract to the oil and sugar mixture. Place the egg whites in a shallow dish on the side and whisk them until bubbly and frothy (the egg whites will be used to keep some extra desiccated coconut on the cookies).
  3. Add the flour and the desiccated coconut. Mix until just combined. Place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes and preheat the oven to 175 C.
  4. Roll the dough into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Dip the balls into the egg whites then roll them into the coconut until covered. Place the balls on parchment lined cookie sheets.
  5. Press down with your thumb to make a small well in the center of the cookie. I had problems doing this with mine, but because you don’t put the nutella onto till after cooking it wasn’t a problem to leave them thumbprint-less.
  6. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until slightly firm. Allow to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet to firm up before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
  7. Add 1/2 teaspoon to the top of each cookie.