Cowboy Cookies Revised

After discovering that she had an allergy to dairy, my sister Julie created perhaps the most delicious, albeit addicting, cookie I have ever encountered. Though the original recipe can be found on the Martha Stewart website, the recipe below calls for coconut oil in lieu of butter. Coconut oil is an ideal substitution for butter because it can be traded for the exact same quantities. Because coconut oil is, like butter, a solid at room temperature, it must be slightly melted in a microwave before being mixed. In effect, the cookie emits a slightly tropical, ethereal smell in the kitchen while baking, conjuring images of a Hawaiian bakery. In my much idealized cookie fantasy, I can almost hear waves crashing in the distance and after a day playing in the surf, what could be better than a coconut-infused confection? Well, nothing of course.

Cowboy Cookies, With Coconut Oil

Vegetable oil cooking spray

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

8 oz coconut oil, slightly melted

3/4 cups sugar

3/4 cup light-brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

6 oz semisweet chocolate, cut into 1/4 inch chunks (1 cup)

3/4 cup pecan halves

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat baking sheet with parchment and spray parchment with cooking spray.
Sift flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder into a medium bowl.
Beat the coconut oil and sugars with a mixer on medium-high until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
Reduce speed to low, and slowly add the flour mixture, beating until just combined. Beat in oats, chocolate, pecans, and coconut until combined.
Using a 1.5 inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart.
Bake until edges of cookies begin to brown, 11-13 minutes. Let cool.
Serve on a beach, preferably on a palm leaf.