Kitchen Sink Cookies

After having made a huge batch of these cookies a few weeks ago, I’m SO glad I froze the majority of the dough in a ready-to-bake form.  Not only were these cookies one of the more outstanding cookies I’ve made in quite a while, but they came in extra handy this past week and weekend during Hurricane Irene and the time following sans electricity.  Packed with protein from a good deal of creamy peanut butter and whole grains from the oats, these kitchen sink cookies make a great snack or dessert that obviously don’t need to be refrigerated.

If you’re wondering about the name, the explanation is pretty simple: you can basically throw everything but the kitchen sink into them.  In addition to the original ingredients, in this version I also added chocolate chunks in place of the recommended chips, Reese’s Pieces since you can never have too much peanut butter in a cookie, and toasted coconut (my version is below).  Toasted coconut adds this amazing depth of flavor to baked goods and since I needed some for the granola I also made recently, I decided to use some of in these cookies as well.  (Look at me patting myself on the back right now. 🙂

The cookies themselves are nothing short of magnificent.  They are mostly chewy but have nice crispy edges and because there is NO flour in them, the peanut butter really shines through as a main ingredient.  And the best part?  In every single cookie, you’ve got different pops of added-in flavor so no one cookie is alike!  I’m thankful to have baked up a bunch of these before we lost electricity because they really are quite comforting during this mess of a week we’re having here.

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Kitchen Sink Cookies
source: adapted from Blue-Eyed Bakers via Annie’s Eats

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sweetened coconut
• 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/3 cups creamy peanut butter
• 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 large eggs
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 1/2 cups quick-cooking or old fashioned oats
• 1 1/4 cups pretzel M&Ms
• 3/4 cup chocolate chunks
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup Reese’s Pieces

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.  Using one lined baking sheet, spread the coconut evenly in one layer.  Bake coconut for 8 minutes.  Using a spatula, turn the coconut over and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes then check for browning.  If coconut has started to brown, turn once again using a spatula.  Continue baking, checking the coconut for browning, and turning with the spatula every minute or two until all of the coconut is all evenly and lightly browned. The total time should be about 15-17 minutes. Be careful in the last few minutes as the coconut can go from browned to burned very quickly.  Once finished, remove the coconut from the oven and set aside to cool completely.  Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugars, peanut butter and butter.  Beat on medium-high speed until well blended.  Mix in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.  Blend in the baking soda, vanilla, and salt.  With the mixer on low speed, mix in the oats until just incorporated.  Fold in the pretzel M&Ms, chocolate chunks, raisins, Reese’s Pieces, and cooled toasted coconut with a spatula.
3. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough (I used a medium-size/3 tbsp dough scoop) onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving a couple of inches between each dough ball.  Bake 8-11 minutes, until light golden and just set, being careful not to overbake.  Let cool on the baking sheets 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container.

Yields 4-5 dozen cookies.

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