Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pecan & Coconut Nutella Cookies

Hello my dear friends!  I'm sorry for the lack of yummy posts.  I assure you there is no slacking on my end!   I'm currently working on multiple e cookbooks for Amazon Kindle and Kindle apps while chasing a curious and active 18 month old around the house.  In fact, the pic for this one was cropped of tiny fingers reaching over to grab one of the cookies screaming to be eaten!  I feel so blessed to be where I'm at in life right now and really want to share as much of who I am with whoever needs my help, advice or ideas on food and cooking. 

As requested, here are the recipes for my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pecan and Coconut Nutella cookies.  By the way, I will always do my best to post any requested recipe while I'm working on the cookbooks.  You will just have to be a tad patient!


Plain Cookie Dough Batter-  I always like to make different types of cookies at one time.  Instead of doing the same steps multiple times, I just make one super large cookie dough batter that I split up and add different ingredients to.  Makes it possible to make multiple types of cookies in one sitting! It's great when you have cookie monsters in your home who are each craving a different type of cookie!  If this is too much for you, you can cut all the measurements in half.

4 1/2 cup white or fine wheat flour (like King Arthur's)
2 tsp  baking soda
2 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
4 eggs
4 sticks softened butter

Yields 5 cups of dough and approximately 4 dozen cookies.

In an electric mixer,  cream the butter with sugar, salt, and baking soda.  Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time alternating with one cup of flour.  Scrape the bowl with a spatula as needed.  Divide the batter in half by removing 2 1/2 cups of dough.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Preheat oven to 375.  

2 1/2 cups plain cookie dough
1 1/2 cup regular oatmeal (for softer, less dense cookies, use 1/2 to 3/4 cup)
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup pecans

In an electric mixer, add oatmeal, chocolate chips, and pecans to the cookie dough and stir until well mixed.  Use an ice cream scoop to transfer dough on to a greased baking sheet.  (I like to use a metal spatula and slightly pat the top of each mound to flatten it a bit since the oatmeal stiffens the dough.)  Bake for 12-13 minutes depending on your oven type and how crispy or soft you like your cookies.

Coconut Nutella Cookies

2 1/2 cups plain cookie dough
3/4 cup Nutella spread
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened) (you can add another 1/4 cup if you really really love coconut)

Preheat oven to 375.

In an electric mixer, add the Nutella to the plain cookie dough and stir at medium low speed until completely  mixed.  Add the shredded coconut and slowly stir until just barely mixed so you don't pack the coconut into the dough.  Use an ice cream scoop to transfer dough onto a greased baking sheet.

Keep the dough in round mounds with at least 1 1/2 inches of space.  They will spread out quickly while baking, which will give the cookies a light crispy texture.

Bake for approximately 12 minutes.


Notes:

1) You can use whole wheat flour and double the fiber without anyone noticing the difference.

2) No more boring sugar cookies to give as gifts!  Be creative!  To your plain cookie dough batter, you can try adding chopped apples, butterscotch and pecans  or grated carrots, walnuts and white chocolate chips!!