Hawaiian Chocolate Chip Cookies

My mom fairly recently returned from Hawaii; it was her first trip there ever! She had a good time and brought back some souvenirs. She bought me a little cookbook: Hawai’i’s Best Local Desserts. It’s a gathering of home recipes, which I really like. I read though the cookbook and selected a couple of different cookies. I let my husband choose, and I wasn’t surprised at all that he picked these Hawaiian Chocolate Chip Cookies. He loves chocolate chip cookies and claims I never make them for him.

This, like most of the recipes in the book, are quite traditional. Most use shortening rather than butter, probably because that is more readily available. This a chocolate chip cookie recipe with oats, coconut and macadamia nuts. It is an awful lot of mix-ins, and I wasn’t able to get everything fully incorporated in the dough. In the recipe I give here, I cut down some of the oats which I think will help. I forget how good the house smells when baking chocolate chip cookies. These cookies smell and taste delicious!

Hawaiian Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup shortening

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups oats

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped

1 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the shortening, sugar, and brown sugar on medium until light. Add the egg and vanilla and stir to combine. Gradually add the flour, then stir in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the oats, chocolate chips, macadamia nuts and coconut and stir on low to combine. You may need to do the last of the mixing with a spatula. 

Drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1-1/2 tablespoons per cookie. 

Bake for 15-16 minutes until the cookies are light brown along the edges. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Hawai’i’s Best Local Desserts