Pina Colada Oatmeal Cookies

I know I have gone a little heavy on the cookies lately, but what can I say? They are quick, easy, portable, keep well, and feed a crowd -- which are all points I look for when I am looking for things to bake since I am mostly baking to feed my coworkers during 12-hour shifts. Of course, cookies also tend to get a little old after a time so I'm always interested in new flavor combinations to make them interesting again.

I was randomly flipping through my KAF Cookie Companion (what? not everybody does that as a hobby?) when I saw the Pina Colada variation for their oatmeal cookies. Pineapple and coconut in a cookie? Awesome. I thought about waiting to make them since I didn't have to work for a few more days and Chris already had buttermilk biscuits to bring to his coworkers, but the longer I sat there, the more the idea intrigued me until I finally jumped up and just made the silly things.

I had coconut extract which I added but I didn't have any pineapple extract (I think you can order it from KAF online) so my cookies have a fairly strong coconut flavor. I don't mind of course because I like coconut, but alas the pineapple flavor just doesn't come through that much. Maybe I'll order the extract and try again just to see what happens.

Overall, they are quite good though. And while the pineapple flavor is faint, it's still occasionaly present and offers a nice bright flavor contrast to the buttery, coconutty cookies. Nice and chewy, an interesting twist, and worth making when you want to try something a little new and a little different.



Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsps vanilla extract
few drops coconut extract, and/or pineapple extract
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 large egg
6 tbsps light corn syrup
1 8 0z can crushed pineapple, well drained
3 cups oatmeal
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.

In a large bowl cream together the butter, shortening, sugars, extracs, salt, and baking soda, beating until fairly smooth. Beat in the egg, scraping the bowl, then beat in the corn syrup and pineapple. Stir in the oats, flour and coconut.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 11-12 minutes, until they are a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool. Mine never look quite done in the center, but I prefer chewy to overdone, so I pull them out when the edges are set, then leave them on the baking sheet until they are cool enough to transfer without falling apart.