Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut and Pecans

As silly as it may sound, there are times when I really miss working at Paychex. Having spent seven years of my life toiling away in a cubicle, surrounded by coworkers so wonderful that I considered them family, I have a lot of fond memories of my time there.

When I began working there, I had to spend two weeks attending a training course at their headquarters in Rochester, New York. That's where I first came across these chocolate chip cookies with coconut and pecans - at the cafeteria in the training facility!

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut and Pecans

As I was preparing for my trip, all of my coworkers kept telling me that I needed to make a point to eat as many of the training cookies as I could. I think they sold for $1 a piece at the cafeteria, and we were given a stipend to cover our lunch each day. Some people even asked me to bring back extra cookies for them!

Now, I have been baking homemade cookies for a really long time, so I wasn't really THAT impressed with the cookies once I got there. They were soft and chewy, which I had made myself plenty of times at home over the years.

BUT they were gigantic, and they were full of chocolate chips, pecans and coconut! I'd never actually eaten a chocolate chip cookie with coconut and pecans before - though I had chocolate chip and pecan cookies.

Whenever I think back to my time at the training headquarters, those cookies are the first thing that pops to my mind - that and the girls I buddied up with and our trip to Niagara Falls one weekend!

I have a favorite Ultimate Chocolate Chip cookie recipe that I make quite often from this old Grandma's Favorite Cookies cookbook, and I thought I'd switch it up a bit and try to recreate those Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut and Pecans from that trip ten years ago.

They came out pretty fantastic!

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Coconut and Pecans

Ingredients

¾ stick or ¾ cup Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening
1 ¼ cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 egg
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans (you can replace the pecans with chocolate chips if you don't like nuts)
½ cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Combine shortening, sugar, milk, vanilla and egg in a large bowl, beating at medium speed until well blended. Add in all dry ingredients and beat at low speed until blended - do not over mix!

Add in pecans, coconut and chocolate chips and stir until they are folded in but do not beat with your mixer.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto an un-greased cookie sheet, about 3 inches apart.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on how soft you like your cookies!

Please note that they will come out of the oven looking underdone but they will harden up a bit once they begin to cool. DO NOT cook any longer than 10 minutes or they will be very hard once they cool!

These cookies are simply amazing! This recipe makes about three dozen cookies.

Like my little napkin? It came as a gift from Hen House Linens, where I get many of my food photography props! You can see their selection on HenHouseLinens.com.