Coconut Oatmeal Blondies

Growing up loving the girl scouts Samoa cookie taught me that coconut and chocolate do wonderful things for a cookie, and so I tried making them in a cookie bar form and these coconut oatmeal blondies were born: buttery and chewy, with gooey centers and plenty of salt and vanilla, packed full of rolled oats, shredded coconut, and dark chocolate. No mixer required, one-bowl blondies. Makes approximately 16 blondies.

Ingredients:

• 125 grams unsalted butter, melted
• 120 grams dark brown sugar (or light brown sugar)
• 50 grams granulated white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 150 grams all-purpose flour
• 60 grams rolled oats (old fashioned, not instant)
• 50 grams unsweetened shredded coconut (or coconut flakes)
• 120 grams dark chocolate, chopped (I like to use 70% cocoa solids) or chocolate chips
• Flaky sea salt, for topping (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 180 Celsius or 350 Fahrenheit.
2. Line an 8×8 inch (20×20 cm) metal baking pan with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, sugars, and salt. Whisk together thoroughly until combined and slightly shiny.
4. Add the egg and vanilla and mix again (make sure the butter isn’t hot before adding the egg!), scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to ensure it is well combined.
5. Add the dry ingredients (flour, oats, coconut, baking soda) and the chopped chocolate. Mix until fully combined and no streaks of flour remain.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Top with extra chocolate and coconut, if desired.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the blondies have puffed up slightly and the edges are set. The middle will still be very soft, but don’t overbake these.
8. Let cool slightly, sprinkle with flaky salt if desired, and slice into bars or squares.
9. Enjoy! These are best freshly baked, but can be stored in an airtight container for 2 days or frozen for longer storage.

Notes:

• Feel free to play with the mix ins: add nuts, skip the chocolate entirely, or add raisins. If you don’t like coconut, replace it with an equal weight of rolled oats.
• For a slightly more savory blondie, increase the salt in the dough to 3/4 teaspoons and skip the flaky salt on top.
• If you want a classic oatmeal cookie rather than a blondie, you can try these chocolate chunk oatmeal cookies or brown butter oatmeal cookies.