Lemon Coconut "Shortbread" Cookies

I did not realize how much I love unsweetened coconut.  It all started with this granola recipe from 100 Days of Real Food.  Since that first batch, I have been adding unsweetened coconut to breads, muffins, cookies and even pancakes.  It is delicious and adds the taste of a treat without a bunch of nasty stuff to go with it. 

This week, I played around with a couple different types of flours that I do not usually have on hand.  I have been seeing many different recipes with spelt flour, almond flour, coconut flour etc. and my baking has pretty much been reserved to regular all purpose flour or whole wheat flour.  So, I geared up for a baking experiment.  The final product came out with a thick shortbread like texture that is nice to enjoy with a cup of tea...and the hint of lemon flavor is refreshing during what I hope are these last days of winter!

Lemon Coconut "Shortbread" Cookies

~1/3 cup coconut oil

~1/3 cup honey

~2 tsp vanilla extract
~1/3 cup organic milk (you could substitute your own choice of milk)

~zest of 1 lemon

~1 cup spelt flour

~1/3 cup coconut flour

~1/3 cup oats

~1/2 tsp baking soda

~1/2 tsp baking powder

~pinch of salt

~3/4 cup unsweetened coconut

*this recipe made 18 cookies

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix honey, coconut oil and vanilla extract with electric mixer until blended smoothly.  Add milk.  Zest 1 lemon into the wet ingredients and mix again. 

Coconut Oil, Honey & Vanilla "Creamed" Together

Add dry ingredients (except coconut) and mix until well incorporated (batter will be thick).  Fold in coconut.

Drop by rounded spoon or melon baller onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet.  Use a fork to press down the cookie.  Bake 10-12 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Brew a cup of tea and enjoy!

 

 

I plugged the recipe into the My Fitness Pal app and came up with a calorie count of 108 calories per cookie.  For my next batch, I am going to modify the recipe a little bit and use orange zest and add some dark chocolate chips for that heavenly orange and chocolate combination!

 

And yes, this truly was a baking experiment. I had to work on this recipe a couple of times to get these cookies.  Just to prove it and maybe give you a giggle, please see this photo of my baking follies:
 

It's a good thing I like baking because my first recipe was a flop!

 

As we all gear up for another busy week, let's try to go with the flow, squeeze in those workouts that make us happy and remember this:

 

Funny cartoon I came across this week & had to share!

 

 

Have a great week!