I was craving a homey, carmel-y type of cookie, and since I just got back from Dubai, dates sprang to mind. I wanted some sort of nutty flavor and texture as well, so I added toasted coconut and oats, for a fragrant, buttery, chewy and, yes, caramel-y cookie.

These were sort of a happy accident. I used a regular oatmeal cookie recipe as a my base to play around with, and by mistake added too much brown sugar (that's why there's so much salt in this recipe, to balance out the sugar. I like to taste a little salt in my cookies). Turns out, though, that the extra sugar really enhanced the buttery toffee flavor I was after in this cookie. Love when mistakes turn out well!

Date and Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

Makes about 20 cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup chopped dates (about half the dates from a 9 oz container)
3/4 cup toasted coconut flakes

Note: I bought the coconut flakes pre toasted from Whole Foods, but you can toast them yourself on a dry pan over medium heat. Keep stirring until flakes turn golden brown. Take out of the pan immediately, and let cool before adding to batter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F
Cream together butter, sugar, and honey until fluffy, about 3-4 minutes
Add in egg and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes
In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt
Slowly beat flour mixture into wet ingredients until just combined
Mix dates, coconut flakes, and oats by hand
roll dough into roughly tablespoon sized balls and place about at least 1 inch apart on a baking sheet. I always line with parchment for easy cleanup but if you don't line, just grease the pan
Bake for 10-12 minutes