This is part two of my cookie-craving afternoon. Coconut and chocolate are two of my favorite flavors, and I always keep a bag of shredded coconut in my cupboard so that I can quickly turn a baked good into a tropic affair. I have come to terms with my lack of discipline with bite-sized cookies, so I tried to make this recipe as light as possible, using very little butter and a mixture of different dry ingredients that all have nutritional benefits (quinoa flour and flaxseed meal).

Ingredients:

1 cup Quinoa flour

1/4 cup regular flour

1 tbsp flaxseed meal

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup light brown sugar

2 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes

1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips (at least 70% dark, and I suggest using a baking bar and chopping it. I used Ghirardelli baking chips and I think the cookies would have come out better if the chocolate was more smoothly incorporated, as it would be with a baking bar.)

2 tbsp grapeseed oil

1 tbsp butter, softened

1 tbsp Blue Agave

1 egg, broken into a separate bowl

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp 1% organic milk

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), use a spoon to cream the sugar, butter, blue agave, and the grapeseed oil. Add the egg and mix to incorporate. Add the milk and vanilla and mix to combine. In a separate large bowl, use a whisk to mix the quinoa flour, flaxseed meal, regular flour, whole wheat pastry flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. In thirds, add the dry ingredients to the wet, incorporating as you go. If the mixture feels very dry, add a spoonful more grapeseed oil. Fold in the coconut and chocolate. Drop teaspoonfuls of dough (or tablespoonfuls if you want larger cookies) onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden and almost crisp. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 1 minute before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely. The cookies will continue to harden as they cool.