There is just something about a freshly baked cookie with a chewy center that soothes the soul, isn’t there. When you are feeling in the dumps, when you are happy, and when you are scrambling to think of something to bring to that social function – cookies are there to help. They can be made for bake sales, school fundraisers, and more because there isn’t a single person that doesn’t enjoy a cookie from time to time.
Why not punch up the traditional (albeit, very tasty) chocolate chip cookie and instead make your own German Chocolate Cookies? These cookies are full of chocolatey goodness and they even have a topping made from coconut and pecans – with a few other ingredients of course!
What to Pair with German Chocolate Cookies
When it comes to German Chocolate Cookies or any type of cookie for that matter – it can be hard to narrow down what is the best beverage to pair them with. Typically, most advertisements show cookies being enjoyed with a tall glass of cold milk but if you aren’t a milk drinker or you find milk too rich to be drank while eating cookies; you are then in the search of something else.
Another great pairing with cookies would have to be freshly perked coffee. There is something about the bitterness of the coffee being chased away with the sweet goodness that is the cookie. And then to flip that taste around and bring down the rich chocolate with slightly bitter coffee? Perfection and a chefs kiss!
Ingredients for the German Chocolate Cookies:
For the Cookie Batter
- 1 cup unsalted room temperature butter
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp. salt (a pinch)
For the Cookie Topping
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 cup sweetened coconut
- 1 cup chopped pecans
How to make the German Chocolate Cookies:
Step one: prep work
Assemble all your ingredients and supplies onto your clean workstation. Preheat the oven to 375° as you don’t want to try and bake something in a cool oven as this can lead to uneven baking throughout the dish – this ruins the consistency, texture, and taste. Line a baking sheet (or a couple) with parchment paper. The parchment paper will prevent the batter from baking onto the sheet and sticking.
Step two: mix butter and sugar
Cream butter and both the light brown and the white sugar together until the mixture is light, fluffy, and fully combined. This should take about 3 to 5 minutes.
Step three: add eggs
Add the eggs and the vanilla extract to your butter/sugar mixture. Beat this mixture with an electric mixer on a low-medium setting until it’s fully combined. You want to have the base for the batter combined thoroughly or the entire taste could be “off”.
Step four: add dry ingredients
Sift together all the remaining dry ingredients. Slowly add these mixed dry ingredients into your wet mixture, stirring constantly or using the mixer on a low speed until 100% combined.
Step five: spoon onto sheet
Once fully mixed, use a cookie scoop or a tablespoon to scoop out 12 mounts of dough onto the baking sheet. If using a spoon, try to form the dough into balls similar to what a cookie scoop would do. Leave spaces between the mounds of dough as these cookies are the type to spread out while baking.
Step six: bake
Place the filled baking sheet(s) in the preheated oven and leave them for 12 to 14 minutes or until they are a deep brown color.
**You can start the prep on the cookie topping while the cookies are baking in the oven**
Step seven: cool
Remove the cookies from the oven and allow them to settle on the baking sheet for approximately 5 minutes. Moving them too soon could cause them to collapse. After the 5 minutes are up – move the cookies to a cooling rack to finish dispersing any residual heat.
Step eight: mix milk, sugar, egg, and butter
In a heavy bottom sauce pan, combine the evaporated milk, granulated sugar, egg yolks, and the unsalted butter. Combine these ingredients using a whisk for the best results and to ensure that all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.
Step nine: cook
Cook the mixture on a medium heat setting for 10 to 12 minutes. Stir this mixture constantly and rapidly or you can risk the risk of ending up with scrambled eggs to the egg yolks used. While scrambled eggs are great – they aren’t what you want on the top of your cookie.
Step ten: add rest of ingredients
After the sauce thickens (which should take the 10 to 12 minutes of constant stirring), remove it from the heat source completely.
Stir in the vanilla extract, coconut, and pecans. Using a whisk or a spatula, continue to fold the new ingredients into the thick sauce until combined. Set aside to cool before adding it to the cookies.
Step eleven: spoon onto cookies
Using the small cookie scoop or a tablespoon – add a dollop of the cookie topping to the center of each chocolate cookie.
