Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Coconut and Almonds
Holy delicious chocolate chunk cookies, Batman! Seriously, if you do one thing this weekend, it should be making these cookies.
I don’t take this suggestion lightly. Frankly, I try to avoid making cookies around here. Not because I don’t love them; I do. Rather, I love them a bit too much and they are just too easy to pick up and put in your mouth. They disappear. I’ve taken to making cookies smaller when I do make them, because I figure then I can just have a small one and then stop. Ok, I’ll give you a moment to stop and laugh at the logic of that. Needless to say, that only makes it slightly less convenient to eat them, as I have to have one in each hand. 
But these cookies… these are so worth it, with their chewy-middle, crispy-edge, chocolate-oozing goodness, that I made them big and proud. These are, for me, the ultimate cookie. If you’re anything like me, you love the chewy texture of oatmeal raisin cookies (but kind of hate the raisins), and the flavor of your basic chocolate chip. Combining the two into an oatmeal chocolate chip isn’t exactly a new trick, but the addition of coconut and bits of almond make these out of this world. Do you know what these taste like? Exactly how you would expect and oatmeal chocolate chunk cookie with coconut and almonds to taste. AMAZING. These won everyone over, even my staunch non-sweet-eating family members. There is no acceptable reason not to make these cookies immediately… unless you are allergic to coconut. Or almonds. Then I guess I’ll let it slide. But everyone else: go make some cookies! Happy Friday!
Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus with Orange-Mint Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb asparagus (or about 20 spears), ends trimmed
- 4 oz very thinly sliced prosciutto
- 1/2 cup whole milk yogurt
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon thinly sliced mint leaves
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine, yogurt, mayonnaise, orange juice and zest, mint leaves, and salt and pepper to taste. Let sit, covered in the refrigerator, preferably for a few hours so the flavors have a chance to meld.
- Prepare a large bowl filled halfway with ice water. In a large skillet or shallow pot, bring a few inches of water to a low boil. Place asparagus in boiling water and simmer for approximately 2 minutes, or until it is bright green and just tender (but still crisp). Immediate remove asparagus from the pot and place it in the bowl of ice water. Once they are completely chilled, remove them from the water and let them dry on a clean dish towel or a paper towel.
- Using a very sharp knife, slice each piece of prosciutto roughly in half length-wise.Wrap each piece of prosciutto snugly around an asparagus spear. Repeat with remaining asparagus and prosciutto. If you'd like, garnish the top with a bit more orange zest and mint. Arrange on a serving platter and serve with the orange-mint dipping sauce.