Sure the title’s a mouthful, but you can’t say every one of those words doesn’t make your mouth water. Well, maybe the white part but it is quickly followed by chocolate and cookies. Not that awful. Another recipe I put together for my foodie penpal this month. She can only eat white chocolate because milk and dark give her horrible headaches. I felt bad and needed to make sure white chocolate was dominant in her package. Because every woman deserves to have chocolate. Plus, it got me thinking a bit. Is white chocolate really that bad? I mean I’d rather do a lot of things before being forced to eat a white chocolate bar. It’s just so sweet, and well, white. But blended with the right combination of ingredients, I’m starting to learn this isn’t a product I should completely banish.

When searching for white chocolate cookie recipes, I was pretty shocked to find that most also included heavy amounts of cocoa powder. Doesn’t that completely negate the purpose for white chocolate? So I went off on my own, started with a classic–Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies–and made it modern, sleek and white.

Lemon Coconut White Chocolate Cookies (Adapted from Nestle Toll House) Makes about 3 dozen

• 1 c all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 c granulated sugar
• 1/4 c brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp lemon juice powder
• 1 c white chocolate chips
• 1 c shredded coconut, toasted

To toast the coconut, heat a  dry skillet over medium heat. Add coconut and cook, stirring frequently until it starts to lightly brown. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. In a stand mixer beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add vanilla then egg, then lemon juice powder, mixing well after each addition.

Combine chocolate chips and coconut by hand.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto parchment lined baking sheet and bake 10 minutes until golden brown.

Ready to ship off to my foodie penpal

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