Some of my favorite recipes aren’t the ones I spend weeks planning. They’re the ones that happen almost by accident, like these Dark Chocolate Coconut Cream Crunch Cookies.
This morning, I was in my kitchen making an extra-large batch of my Brown Butter Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies. It’s a recipe I’ve made so many times that I can practically make it with my eyes closed.
As I stood there mixing ingredients together, my mind started wandering.
What if…
If you love to bake, you probably know exactly what I mean.
Sometimes all it takes is one little idea, and suddenly your brain starts putting flavors together before you’ve even finished the recipe you’re already making.
That’s how so many of my bakery-style cookie recipes have come to be, and it’s one of my favorite things about creating new cookies.
I’ve been wanting to experiment with kataifi, a shredded phyllo dough, for a while now. I love the light, crispy texture it adds, but I wanted to use it in a way that felt a little different.
Instead of pairing it with pistachios like you see so often, I kept coming back to coconut.
Rich dark chocolate.
Creamy coconut.
A buttery crunch.
The more I thought about it, the more I knew I had to give it a try.
So while one batch of cookies was baking, I started mixing together a simple coconut filling, toasted some kataifi in butter until it was golden and crispy, and tucked it inside my favorite chocolate cookie dough.
The result?
I couldn’t wait to break one open.
Seeing that creamy coconut center with the crispy golden kataifi tucked inside was exactly what I had imagined. Every bite had rich dark chocolate, smooth coconut, and just enough crunch to make you reach for another bite.
One of the things I love most about baking is that there is always something new to try. Sometimes the best recipes don’t come from following someone else’s directions. They come from being willing to experiment a little and see what happens.
Thankfully, this experiment turned out to be a delicious one.
If you decide to make these dark chocolate coconut cream crunch cookies, I’d love to hear what you think. And if you come up with your own fun flavor combinations, you’ll have to let me know. You never know when your next favorite recipe is waiting to be discovered.
Dark Chocolate Coconut Cream Crunch
Dark Chocolate Coconut Cream Crunch Cookie
Ingredients
- 3 cups packed brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup melted brown butter (regular melted butter will work as well)
- 1 cup melted margarine
- 5 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 4 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 to 7 cups all-purpose flour, leveled (add more if needed)
- 3 cups mini dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup toasted coconut
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. If you’re baking at an elevation around 4,000 feet or higher, try 325°F instead.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the brown butter, margarine, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until well combined.
Mix in the baking soda, salt, cocoa powder, and flour until a soft dough forms. If the dough feels sticky, add a little more flour. If it seems dry, add milk one tablespoon at a time until the dough is soft but no longer sticky.
Fold in the dark chocolate chips and toasted coconut.
6-Ingredient Coconut Filling
One of my favorite things about this dark chocolate coconut cream crunch cookie is that the filling is surprisingly simple. It only takes a few minutes to put together, but it creates that creamy center and buttery crunch that makes these cookies so special.
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup cream of coconut (such as Coco Lopez)
- ½ teaspoon coconut extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract (optional, but highly recommended)
- ½ cup melted white chocolate
- 1 cup toasted buttered kataifi
Instructions
Beat the cream cheese until smooth.
Mix in the cream of coconut, coconut extract, almond extract, and melted white chocolate until creamy.
Fold in the toasted buttered kataifi.
Refrigerate for about 20 to 30 minutes, then scoop into 1 tablespoon portions and freeze for at least one hour.
To toast the kataifi: Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped kataifi and cook, stirring often, until golden brown and crispy. Let it cool completely before adding it to the filling.
Assemble the Dark Chocolate Coconut Cream Crunch Cookies
Using a large 4 tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop two portions of dough for each cookie.
Flatten one scoop of dough in your hand and place one frozen coconut filling ball in the center.
Cover with the second scoop of dough and seal the edges completely around the filling.
If desired, press a few extra dark chocolate chips onto the tops before baking.
Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until the edges are set and the centers are still soft.
Allow your dark chocolate coconut cream crunch cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
This recipe makes approximately 24 extra-large bakery-style dark chocolate coconut cream crunch cookies or 6 dozen regular-sized cookies.
Helpful Tips
Use these tips specifically for the dark chocolate coconut cream crunch cookies, but you might also read through my more extensive list of tips on my blog for baking the perfect cookie that I’ve developed over my years as a baker.
- Toasting the coconut before adding it to the dough gives these cookies an even richer flavor.
- Cream of coconut is sweetened and should not be substituted with canned coconut cream.
- The almond extract is optional, but it beautifully enhances the coconut flavor.
- For smaller 2-ounce cookies, bake for approximately 12 to 14 minutes.
- At lower elevations, I recommend starting at 350°F. I bake at just over 4,000 feet, where 325°F works well for my extra-large cookies.
Ingredient Weights
- Brown Sugar: 789 g
- Granulated Sugar: 189 g
- Eggs: 253 g
- Cocoa Powder: 88 g
- Flour: 1272 to 1412 g
If You Love Chocolate and Coconut
If chocolate and coconut is one of your favorite combinations, you’ll also want to try my Grandma Bowers’ Coconut Islands. That cookie has its own family story and gives you another completely different way to enjoy chocolate and coconut together.
Thank you so much for spending a little part of your day here with me. I truly hope something you found in this post helps make your life a little easier, saves you a little money, encourages you to create something special in your own kitchen, or simply inspires you to try something new.
Explore More Bakery-Style Cookie Recipes
These Dark Chocolate Coconut Cream Crunch Cookies are just one of the creative combinations I’ve dreamed up in my kitchen. You can browse all of my bakery-style cookie recipes for more giant cookies, stuffed cookies, chocolate-loaded favorites, seasonal creations, and plenty of other unexpected flavor combinations.
Sometimes a new favorite really does start with nothing more than standing in the kitchen and wondering, “What if?”
I’m so glad I followed that little idea with these cookies. If you make them, I’d love to know what you think of that creamy coconut center and crispy kataifi crunch. And if they inspire you to experiment with a flavor combination of your own, even better.
Making every house feel a little more like home.
