Mini Dark Chocolate Coconut Almond (Or Not) Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups—12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies

I’ve never been so torn over what to call a cookie or which photo to share first, but these cookies take that prize!  Similar to the recent Mini Chocolate Chip Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cookies, I think I’m on a little kick to see all the different things I can put into these mini chocolate chip cookie cups.  I began dreaming of coconut, so these Mini Dark Chocolate Coconut Almond Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups hailed from the oven.

After making these, I decided these would be my choice for the tenth week of the 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies.  I think a fun idea for a Christmas cookie plate is to make a bunch of these with unlimited possibilities of candy to put in the middle.  They would be really fun and colorful with all the different Hershey’s Kisses now available or even M&Ms.  I also think Peppermint Patties would be great.  The cookies are baked for 8-9 minutes, then removed from the oven and the chocolate/candy is added for another 2-3 minutes, which makes for perfect chocolate melting but not so much that the candy becomes an unrecognizable puddle of goo. 

It goes to say---

“That sometimes you feel like a nut……..”

“sometimes you don’t.”  I realize that it seems people are either in the “hate coconut” camp, or “love coconut” camp.  So be it.  It’s a winner at our house! 

This recipe for chocolate chip cookies seems to work great with coming out of the mini muffin tin.  I have found that just going around part of the edge of each cup with a sharp knife releases the cookie with no problems.

Mini Dark Chocolate Coconut Almond (Or Not) Chocolate Chip Cookie  Cups, by Katrina, Baking and Boys! 

17 ounces all purpose flour (3  2/3 cups minus 2 tablespoons) (lightly spooned into the measuring cup and swept level with a knife—kitchen scales are best!)

1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt

2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups or 10 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature

10 ounces (1 ¼ cups, packed tightly) light brown sugar

8 ounces (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

about 15 ounces mini chocolate chips (1 package is 12 ounces and would probably be fine)

Dark Chocolate Candy, such as Dove or Hershey’s Bliss, unwrapped

2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

pinch salt

1/2 cup whole almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Have mini muffin tins ready.  No need to grease.

Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl with a wire whisk. Set aside.

In bowl of electric mixer, cream together butter and sugars until very light, about five minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips with rubber spatula.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the coconut, pinch of salt and sweetened condensed milk.

Fill each muffin cup about half full with cookie dough, about a tablespoon of dough per cup.   Indent the center of each cookie cup and fill it with about 2 teaspoons of the coconut mixture.  Top with an almond if desired.   Bake for 8-9 minutes.  Remove from oven and place a chocolate in the center of each one and push down slightly.  Return to oven for 2-3 minutes.  Let cool in muffin tin on wire rack until they are set and cool, you can even set the tin in the fridge for 15 minutes or so after they have cooled about 10 minutes.  With a sharp knife, pry each cookie out of their cup—they come out quite easily, just be careful as the peanut butter cup is still soft.   Feel free to try other chocolate/candies in the center.

For the fun and deliciousness of it, I filled one giant cookie with some of the coconut, almonds and chocolate.  The cookie was probably six inches in diameter.  You could make some of these to give as holiday gifts as well.  They would be the type to wrap individually, rather than put on plates. 

You know you want a bite!  Anyone else starting to really freak out about how fast Christmas is coming now?