Coconut Rice Krispie Treat Cookies

 

Happy Birthday, Sarah!  Sending lots of love from Columbus!

 

Sarah and I have shared a lot over the years.  Aside from the obvious blonde hair and blue eyes...

 

We are both proud alumni of Miami of Ohio (Go Redhawks!)...

 

where we were both members of Pi Beta Phi (angel sis for life)...

 

where we also happily lived in the best house on campus, Hoedown.

 

Sarah went on to live in Chicago and a few years later, I joined her in the windy city!

 

 BUT, we still share a strong LOVE for Ohio State football (O-H...!) and our Columbus roots.

 

Although there are a few hundred miles between us now, we still share things like recipes, restaurant reviews AND an obsession with all things coconut.  Which brings me to these cookies...

 

If you recall, I had lots of leftover rice krispie treat scraps from my cut-outs last week.  Seeing as I didn't want them to go to waste, I began brainstorming.  The Coconut Rice Krispie Treat cookie was born.  These are so insanely chewy from the ground oats, coconut and rice krispie treat bits.  I was pretty proud of myself for coming up with this concoction and knew the only person who would appreciate a coconut packed cookie as much as I do, is Sarah :)

 

**Note:  I realize most people don't have chopped up rice krispie treats laying around.  Soooo you can either make a batch OR buy the pre-made rice krispie treats at the store.  Whole Foods even sells them in the bakery if you're against the whole processed foods things.

 

Coconut Rice Krispie Treat Cookies

Source:  adapted from take a megabite

 

Ingredients

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups oatmeal, coarsely ground in a food processor (measurement is before grinding)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups chopped up rice krispie treats

2 cups shredded, sweetened coconut

sea salt, for sprinkling

 

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  Set aside.

 

In a standing mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment beat the butter and the sugars together until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add vanilla.  Beat until combined.

 

In another medium bowl whisk together the flour, ground oatmeal, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Beat into the sugar and egg mixture until just mixed together (do not overbeat!). With a wooden spoon, and using some muscle, stir the rice krispie treats and coconut into the dough. Using an ice cream scoop (about 3 tablespoons), scoop the dough out of the bowl. Roll into a ball in your palms. Flatten slightly and place on the prepared baking sheets a couple inches apart. Sprinkle with additional salt.

 

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden on top and set. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.