Browned Butter Toasted Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Dear lady on the 6:20 bus,

It is rush hour in Seattle. There are a lot of people on this bus. It is cramped, it is crowded, and the fact that it has been raining all day brings a musty, moist quality to the air.

It is rush hour on the express bus to Seattle, and you have decided that the best use for the seat next to you is your noticeably large purse.

I do not care for your purse.

Dear lady on the 6:20 bus, it is not the size of your purse, nor the style that I find offensive, but its location.

I know it is important in this day and age to take care of ourselves and not burden our laps with anything too strenuous. It’s clear that holding your purse would have gotten in the way of the magazine you were reading, and while I wanted to relate to you and truly understand your plight, I chose a different path.

I sat on your purse. Or rather, half sat, half politely tried to squeeze in the space in the seat your purse managed to not occupy. I could have stood in the aisle like others before me, but I had a long day. My legs were tired. In the past I have ungracefully fallen sideways into a polite man attempting to read his Kindle while standing in the aisle. I wasn’t about to let a purse make me go through that again.

Your reaction was calmly passive aggressive. The slight shift of your purse that didn’t actually give me anymore room. The re-crossing of your legs in the other direction in such a way that gave me less room.

Touche, lady on the 6:20 bus, I see the message you’re trying to send me. I also feel the way you elbow me lightly in the gut every time you flip the page in your magazine. Sneaky, but ruder than what I was expecting from a lady as well dressed as you. That’s right, I complimented you. The location of your purse doesn’t make your coat any less cute and I’m big enough of a person to admit that.

Although I do wish your coat wasn’t cute. I wish it was tasteless and made of really itchy wool. Girls can be petty like that sometimes.

I don’t want to be petty to you, lady on the 6:20 bus, my mommy always raised me to be courteous to others, even strangers. I think kindness and understanding would be especially important at rush hour on the 6:20 bus when everyone is tired from work and crammed into each other’s personal space.

It’s just a hunch, but I don’t think your mommy made you cookies when you were little. I don’t think she sat you down at the kitchen table with a warm cookie and an ice cold glass of milk and explained to you how you should always treat others they way you wish to be treated, and I’m sorry if that’s true. Or maybe she did, once upon a time, and now that you’re older, things have gotten a little tougher, with less cookies, and it’s harder to be nice. It happens to a lot of us.

Dear lady on the 6:20 bus, I think you should make yourself these cookies. They’re like classic chocolate chip cookies, but a little more grown up, just like you. I think you should eat a couple of them (although my official recomendation is 3 or 4) and think happy thoughts. Think about nutty browned butter and luscious dark chocolate melting on your tongue. Think about a world where everyone is nice to each other and eats chocolate chip cookies after work.

Not everyone does, as you have shown me today, but everyone would be a little bit happier if they did.

Dear lady on the 6:20 bus, I’m sorry you’re grumpy.

Love,

Amanda

Recipe from Joy the Baker

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and browned to about 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon salt (depending on how salty you like things)
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cup toasted coconut (unsweetened or sweetened. I used unsweetened)
• 1 cup dark chocolate chunks

Directions

1. Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.  On one baking sheet, spread out shredded coconut.  Toast coconut for about 6 minutes, until browned and fragrant, stirring occasionally.  Remove from the oven, place in a small bowl and let cool.
2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  The butter will begin to foam and crackle.  This means that the water is evaporating from the butter.  Once the crackling subsides, keep an eye on the butter.  The butter solids will begin to brown.  You’ll smell the butter as it browns.  Once well browned, immediately remove the butter from the flame and place in a small bowl.  Removing the butter from the pan will ensure that it doesn’t continue to cook and burn in the hot pan.  Allow the butter to cool for a few moments.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, measure granulated and brown sugar.  Add the brown butter and beat together, on medium speed, for about 2 minutes.  The sugar may still look grainy.  That’s ok.
5. Add the egg and egg yolk and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  The mixture should become smooth.  Add vanilla extract and beat.
6. With mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients.  Beat until just incorporated.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to fold in the toasted coconut and chocolate chips.  Dough will be thick.
7. Cookies can be baked immediately, or the dough can be left in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
8. Spoon balls by the rounded tablespoonful onto the prepared baking sheets.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until golden brown but still slightly soft in the center.  Remove from the oven.  Allow the cookies to cool on the pan for 5 minutes, before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Store cookies in an airtight container.

Makes just over 2 dozen cookies.

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