I’ve been working on a harvest cookie for this entire year. After falling in love with the harvest cookies at Prêt à Manger and the ranger cookies from Nordstrom Café, I set out to make my own fully-loaded versions. For a while, though, all of my attempts were utter failures. Then, I signed up for that cookie science class in an attempt to figure things out. But before I could really experiment, life took a turn for the better when my friend let me borrow his America’s Test Kitchen cookbook, and I came across their oatmeal cookie recipe. With a few adaptations and lessons learned, behold: a crispy-chewy oatmeal cookie loaded with chocolate, coconut, pecans, cranberries, and a delightful hit of salt. SWOON!
To make these cookies, let 1.5 sticks of butter (12 tablespoons) soften. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper, and preheat your oven to 350° F. Then, add the softened butter into a bowl along with 10.5 ounces (1.5 packed cups) of brown sugar. Beat the butter and the sugar together with an electric mixer until the butter looks aerated. Then, mix in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 egg. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
In a separate bowl, weigh out 4.25 ounces of all-purpose flour and 2 ounces of whole wheat flour (in total, about 1.25 cups of flour). You could use all white flour, but everyone who tasted my cookies commented (oddly) that they tasted healthy, so I’ll attribute that to the whole wheat element. To the flour, add 3/4 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon of granulated sea salt. Stir the dry ingredients together. With the mixer running on low, add the dry ingredients in thirds and allow them to mix until they are just barely combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
To the separate bowl, add 1.25 cups of rolled oats, 1/2 cup of flaked coconut, 3/4 cup of chopped, toasted pecans, 3/4 cup of dried cranberries, and 3/4 cup of chocolate chips. Stir those ingredients together, and then, with the mixer running on low, pour them in and allow them to combine into the cookie batter. Again, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
Use a 1/4 cup measure to scoop 8 mounds of cookie dough onto each baking sheet. Roll each mound into a ball, and then press down on the ball until it’s about 1 inch thick. Space the cookies about 2.5 inches away from each other, because they will spread.
Bake the cookies for 12 minutes. Then, rotate the baking sheets around so that they change oven racks and face in the opposite direction. Bake the cookies for approximately 8 more minutes. The cookies are done when they look dry but when the cracks in the cookies still appear shiny. Remove the cookies from the oven, and let them cool and set. If you bake the cookies past this point, they’ll be crispier (but still delicious).
This recipe is adapted from Cooking at Home with America’s Test Kitchen.
Shopping list:
- Butter- 12 tablespoons
- Brown sugar- 10.5 ounces (1.5 packed cups)
- Egg- 1
- Vanilla extract- 1 teaspoon
- All-purpose flour- 4.25 ounces
- Whole wheat flour- 2 ounces
- Baking powder- 3/4 teaspoon
- Baking soda- 1/2 teaspoon
- Granulated sea salt- 3/4 teaspoon
- Rolled oats- 1.25 cups
- Flaked coconut- 1/2 cup
- Chopped pecans- 3/4 cup
- Dried cranberries- 3/4 cup
- Chocolate chips- 3/4 cup
