Coconut Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cherries

I spent the weekend slowly packing — working through my office and then moving down to the kitchen. We’ve still got about two weeks until we actually move but I hate leaving things to the last minute and feeling like a crazy person (regardless of how much one plans, doesn’t moving pretty much always make you feel like a crazy person?) So instead of working on freelance projects or doing carefree spring weekend things, I spent some quality time carefully selecting kitchen items I know we can live without for a little while: colander, salad spinner, yogurt maker, madeline pan. Making donation piles of books, old games and pants I haven’t worn in two years doesn’t seem to be a problem, but when it comes to the kitchen it’s hard for me to let go. Case in point: the madeline pan. Do I remember the last time I made a madeline? Not really.

But beyond the things I chose to pack, I’m interested in the ones I’ve deliberately left out, knowing I clearly can’t live without them: ice cream maker, muffin pan, favorite salad bowls, pie plate. Apparently, there’s ice cream and pie in our future balanced with a few good salads and a muffin or two. At about 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, we’d run out of newspaper and good packing boxes and it was time to take a break. I scanned a few recent cookbooks to see if a recipe called to me right away, and sure enough I found just the thing in Anna Jones’ new A Modern Way to Eat. Cookies. And not just any cookies. These are soft, slightly chewy Coconut Oatmeal Cookies made with oats, toasted coconut, coconut oil and a little brown sugar. They’re so simple you can pull them together even if you’ve packed much of your kitchen into boxes and aren’t entirely sure where your measuring cups now live.

I received a copy of A Modern Way to Eat in the mail a few weeks ago and was immediately smitten. The style of food is simple, healthy vegetarian and most of the ingredient lists are short and familiar — because of this it comes off as approachable right away. While recipes such as Deep Dish Leek and Greens Pie, Smoked Paprika Oven-Baked Fries and Strawberry Poppy Seed Crisp entice, I’m charmed by the ways Anna gives you a blueprint or snapshot into making your own salads, soups or roasts. For example, there’s a great page on Ten Ways with Avocado on Toast, or Three Go-to Pasta Recipes. I love the page on How to Make a Great Salad, which contains steps 1-5 that start you off Choosing Good Salad Leaves (and listing options) followed by Adding Some Interest (again, with lots of inspiring ideas), Adding Texture, Make it Hearty, and so forth. Anna encourages you to get creative with food on your own terms, off script, without strict formula or recipe.

Her Coconut Oatmeal Cookies won out on Sunday simply because I had all of the ingredients on hand and didn’t have to make an extra trip to the store. Oven preheated, ingredients weighed out, and we were in business. Climbing over boxes to melt the coconut oil, burning the coconut once and having to start over, realizing I was out of raisins and relying on dried cherries instead — nothing could hold these cookies back. Sam worked the farmers market for me that day and when he got home I handed him a cookie on my way out the door for a run and he texted a few minutes later that they were ACTUALLY AMAZING. Sam is critical when it comes to cookies and he doesn’t have as much of a sweet tooth as I do, so for him to really get behind something sweet in a way that would necessitate capital letters is a rare occasion. That’s a big endorsement around here.

Megan’sNotes: I made a few tweaks to the recipe as I went: I added 1/2 teaspoon of salt (original recipe didn’t call for any), I swapped in whole wheat pastry flour (the recipe calls for either spelt or coconut flour), and I actually ended up adding 1/2 cup more flour than the recipe calls for because my cookie dough was pretty wet once I’d completed the instructions. This could certainly be user error (although I did carefully weigh all ingredients), but I just had a hunch they weren’t going to turn out well if I put them in the oven as is. What I ended up doing is giving you my tweaks below for what worked for me, but perhaps be mindful that Anna calls for 3/4 cup flour in the recipe so if you want to be a purist and follow her formula precisely you could certainly start there. Then if your dough is quite wet like mine was, you’re going to want to add a bit more. I found 1 1/4 cups flour to be perfect, and that’s what you’ll find in the recipe below. I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cherries

Yield: 14 large cookies
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Inactive time: 5 mins
Total time: 40 mins

Anna’s recipe calls for raisins, but we happened to be out so I used dried cherries instead. Certainly use any dried fruit you’re excited about — I thought chopped dates would be really nice next time. Or perhaps fold in some toasted nuts like pecans or walnuts instead of the fruit. The options feel endless.

Adapted from: A Modern Way to Eat

Ingredients

1/2 cup (50g) unsweetened coconut flakes

3/4 cup (125g) whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup (60g) spelt flour

1/2 cup (50g) rolled oats

1/2 cup (100g) dried chopped cherries (or raisins or cranberries)

1/3 cup (75g) light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

9 tablespoons (125 g) coconut oil

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread the coconut out on one baking sheet and toast in the oven until golden brown and fragrant, about 5-8 minutes. Set aside to cool. Increase oven temperature to 375 F.

Weigh out the following ingredients into a bowl: both flours, oats, toasted coconut, cherries, brown sugar, salt, and baking soda.

Next, melt the coconut oil in a small pan (or use the microwave) until liquid. Allow to cool slightly before adding the maple syrup. Stir the warm mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix well — the dough should look a little crumbly but should come together when you squeeze it and form into a ball.

Using a spoon and your hands, form the dough into balls. For larger cookies, make them just over a tablespoon in size; for smaller ones, make them a generous teaspoon size. Place on prepared baking sheets, leaving 1-inch inbetween each cookie. Gently press down on the tops of each to flatten slightly.

Bake the larger cookies for 11-12 minutes and the smaller ones for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly golden on top and even in color. When you pull them out of the oven they will still feel soft and you’ll wonder if they’re done — they firm up as they cool. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the trays before transferring to cooling rack to cool completely.

Nicole
April 14, 2015

These look AMAZING! I must make as soon as I get more oats. I have noticed that spelt flour (and I've heard this is the case with coconut flour as well) absorbs more moisture, so that could be why you need a bit more flour when using ww pastry ... Good luck with your move!

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Spring B.
April 14, 2015

We're also moving, and your comment about the madeleine pan made me laugh out loud. I just did the exact same thing! "Can I live without my madeleine pan for two months?" Of course I can, I haven't made them in about two years, but suddenly it seemed such a very important choice.

In the end, I packed my pan, and I will console myself with a batch of your very yummy-looking oatmeal cookies instead. Thanks for letting me know that other people exist who worry more about which pans to pack than which clothes. :)

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Mary @chattavore
April 14, 2015

I don't like oatmeal raisin cookies, but oatmeal and dried cherries? Yes please! These look fantastic!

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momgordon
April 14, 2015

One, moving does make you crazy! Two, you can pretty much live forever without a salad spinner!!! Before I pack my baking sheets I am going to try these.
xoxoxox

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Tania @ The Cook's Pyjamas
April 14, 2015

Coconut flour will suck up the moisture, whilst I find white spelt doesn't suck up as much which can throw off your liquid balances when making substitutions. I love the sound of these. Just in time for my back-to-school baking. Thanks.

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Kathleen
April 14, 2015

These just might happen tonight. Thanks, Megan!

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rachel
April 14, 2015

These look like a great candidate to make for a gluten free friend! (Megan, I noticed there's a repeat of a paragraph at the end. I just point it out because it may confuse someone.)

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Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
April 14, 2015

These sound delicious! I love the dried cherries in there!!

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megang
April 14, 2015

Hi, N! Yes, I'd definitely heard the same with coconut flour, but always only notice a slight difference with spelt. But you're right... I'm sure this is part of the issue. You will like these - I just know it. Loving the photos of the new home / surroundings. xo

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megang
April 15, 2015

THANK YOU, Rachel! Updated now :)

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megang
April 15, 2015

Thanks for the comment, Tania! Yes I think some coconut flour would've helped suck up some of that moisture for sure. I've never had this issue with spelt before, but it was also a different brand than I usually buy (mixed in with a little we ground), so perhaps too much wonkiness going on for one batch of cookies. Thanks again for taking the time to comment - coconut flour next time! ~Megan

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megang
April 15, 2015

Haha, mom: We have TWO salad spinners! Maybe you need one??

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Becki
April 15, 2015

I made these last night, with whole wheat pastry flour and spelt flour (I do have coconut flour of unknown vintage but have not had good results with it. Maybe I need to move so I can toss it!). My husband requested dried apricots instead of raisins.
Anyway, they were good last night but a bit too crumbly. Today however, they are GREAT! Firmed up overnight and chewy. Hooray for tasty vegan cookies that need no apology! Thanks!

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megang
April 15, 2015

Awesome, Becki! I'm glad to hear it (and apricots sound great). ~Megan

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Kate
April 16, 2015

I mentioned on Instagram, I love this book! Anna is such a breath of fresh air and her gorgeous vegetarian recipes and baking are both staples in our household now x

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Kaitlin
April 21, 2015

Made these last night and LOVE them! I definitely want to try apricots, as Becki mentioned. I was wondering-would it just be too over the top to have a bit of chopped chocolate in them? I wasn't sure if the liquid base of coconut oil would maybe not be the best for chocolate, like it needs something more to bind to... Anyway, thanks for sharing the recipe and Anna's cookbook!

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megang
April 22, 2015

Oh I think a little chopped chocolate would be awesome, Kaitlin. I'd take down the amount of dried fruit by just a touch but I think they'll bind together just fine. Enjoy!

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Nell Cole
April 28, 2015

OMG!!! These look so delicious!Next week me and my family, we are going to move to our new home and I wanted to prepare some stack for the traveling. Thank you for the nice idea!

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inteligentny_dom
May 22, 2015

I was going to make a rhubarb cake but now I'm not sure what to choose, rhubarb or oatmeal cookies. Well, I think I should make both of them :D

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Fawn
February 25, 2016

I made these and they were incredible. The bad thing about this recipe: now I will have to use willpower not to eat all of them!

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Mary
January 28, 2017

Hi Megan! When you say spelt flour in your recipes, do you mean whole grain? Thanks

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megang
January 29, 2017

Hi, Mary! Yes, whole grain spelt flour. Thanks for the great question.

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