Cookie Monster Cravings

The more I stay up late, the more I feel a need to bake cookies. Not to eat them, only to make them. I suppose that means I'm more a cookie craver than a cookie monster. Sorry for disappointing you, my dear blue furred cookie loving monster. =(

But I think he would be proud. Not only did I use up ingredients that I had in my fridge but the resulting confection was soft and chewy, perfect on its own or with a glass of cold milk in the middle night. So if you're in the Caribbean, have some coconut on hand, haven't quite gotten to the point of rum and don't have any lime, here's a tasty suggestion.

Chewy Coconut Almond Cookies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp almond extract
1 egg
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
2-2 1/2 cups shredded/flaked coconut, sweetened

Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the egg and almond extract (I ran out of vanilla so I used almond, but either is acceptable and yummy) and mix until combined. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt, sifting the ingredients together before adding to the butter/egg mixture. Stir until mostly combined before adding the coconut. The batter will seem a little dry at first but keep mixing until you get a butterscotch colored cookie dough that smells of coconut and almond.
Preheating the oven to 350 degrees, line a pan with foil or parchment. Form teaspoon sized mounds of batter on the pan; they will spread so have them about 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 (I baked them for 8 min). When you take them out, they'll still be very soft. Let them sit untouched for 5-10 minutes to cool and get a little harder before transferring to a plate.