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Coconut Ranger Cookies {And My Caribbean Vacay Recap!}

February 1, 2015 by thedomesticrebel | 21 Comments

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Coconut Ranger Cookies in a stack of four on wood backgroundSo if you’ve been following me on Instagram, you know I went on a blog-related Caribbean cruise a couple weeks ago. And it was amazing.

It was my first time cruising, so I was a little *teensy* bit skeptical. I mean, what if we encountered a rogue iceberg? Or killer pirates? Or sharks with laser beams on their heads, Austin Powers-style? It could happen.

But none of it did (that I know of, anyway) and I lived to tell the tale. And truth be told, it was one of the most amazing weeks of my life. I learned so much, I met so many new, fabulous friends, and I ate my freakin’ weight in food. Like, the laser-beam sharks would surely eat me first since I was filled to the brim with cookies.

We traveled on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, which is actually one of the largest cruise ships on the ocean. It’s taller than the Golden Gate Bridge and what seems like miles upon miles long, and is packed with plenty of things to see and do at any given time. Want to see a Broadway show? They were performing Cats. Want to ride on a surf simulator? Yep, they have that, too (and watching people biff may be my new favorite pasttime). Want to eat free Coconut Ranger Cookies all the live long day? I do, and I did. Oh man, I did.

Thankgodforleggings.

As I mentioned before, it was a blog-related cruise called the Click Retreat. The Click Retreat is a photography based conference that focuses on all things click-y to do with your camera. Not only did I meet some amazing photographers, but I was surrounded by some of the best bloggers you could think of. I felt beyond blessed to be sailing in the middle of the teal blue Caribbean learning about F-stops and ISO, taking pictures of sunsets while drinking champagne. It was seriously like I was a socialite, except with less fancy clothes.

We traveled and toured Nassau, Bahamas; Magen’s Bay, St. Thomas; and Marigot and Philipsburg, St. Maarten, which turned out to be my favorite island by far… and I’ll have pictures of my experience at the end of the post if you’re interested 🙂

Overall, it was a phenomenal experience and I couldn’t have asked for a better time. And before I forget, let’s go back to those aforementioned all-I-can-eat cookies. The cookies I could not get enough of where Coconut Ranger Cookies… have you heard of them? They’re kind of like Kitchen Sink Cookies in that they have a little bit of everything in them: coconut, cornflakes, oats. The kind on the ship didn’t have chocolate chips, but you could totally throw those in there, or even butterscotch or peanut butter chips. But they’re the perfect balance of sweet and salty, crunchy and ultra chewy, with great texture and this wonderful deep, toffee flavor. I fell in love with them, and Joan and I could not stop sneaking them back to our rooms. I vowed that when I returned home, I’d recreate this dreamy cookie … and lucky for me, it’s pretty identical to Royal Caribbean’s!

Coconut Ranger Cookies stacked to show top of cookie on wood backgroundIt’s kinda like I’m on a cruise… except I’m not seasick and I’m not being served champagne. Also, no one makes my bed and there’s dog hair everywhere. Okay, so it isn’t like a cruise at all, but if I can’t live on a ship forever, at least I’ll have ship cookies 🙂

Coconut Ranger Cookies stacked x6 on wood background*recipe adapted from All-Recipes

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5 from 1 vote

Coconut Ranger Cookies {And My Caribbean Vacay Recap!}

Chewy, crisp and loaded with delicious toffee and coconut flavors, these fabulous cookies are one of my favorites! Feel free to sub in chocolate, butterscotch or even peanut butter chips for an added touch if you'd like!
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time12 mins
Total Time22 mins
Course: Cookies
Servings: 24
Author: Hayley Parker, The Domestic Rebel

Ingredients

  • 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 & 1/2 tsps baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp dried nonfat milk powder
  • 1 & 3/4 cup old fashioned oats not instant
  • 1 & 3/4 cup crushed cornflakes cereal
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone liners, or mist baking sheets lightly with cooking spray and set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar with the paddle attachment until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add in the eggs and vanilla until incorporated. Lastly, add in the baking soda, baking powder, milk powder, salt, and flour until a soft dough forms. Stir in the oats, cornflakes cereal and coconut by hand, (and if using chips, stir those in now, too).
  • Drop rounded, Tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto the baking sheets, keeping about 2" apart. Bake for approx. 10-12 minutes, rotating pans halfway through baking time to ensure even cooking. Cookies are done when the edges are light golden brown. The cookies may appear slightly undone; this is okay - just do not over bake. Allow the cookies to cool for about 15 minutes on the sheets before transferring carefully to a wire rack to cool completely.
  • Store cookies airtight, at room temperature, up to a week. Cookies are best served warm or at room temperature.

Coconut Ranger Cookies stacked with one cookie broken open on wood backgroundThese are so chewy, with buttery-crisp edges and a scrumptious texture thanks to the chewy, nutty coconut and the crushed cornflakes! The brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla and milk powder help create that deep, rich toffee undertone to these cookies that pairs beautifully with the shredded coconut, old fashioned oats and the crunchy cornflakes cereal. As I said before, feel free to add in chopped nuts or chocolate chips for a different flavor or texture! 🙂

And now, for pictures! Enjoy!

Banana Daiquiri in Magan's Bay, USVIThe most delicious banana daiquiris in St. Thomas! And the view is Magen’s Bay, their famous (and gorgeous!) beach.

Cruzan Rum tasting in CaribbeanIn St. Thomas, we had the pleasure of sampling some Cruzan Rum! My favorites were the banana and black cherry, but they were all so delicious! 

Photo of me and Alyssa with beach behind usThis was my wonderful, incredible, awesome, fantastical room-mate, Alyssa from Simply Quinoa! We couldn’t have more different blogs, but we connected on so many levels. I love her! 

Up close photo of butterflyI had the unique opportunity to break away from my Click Retreat group and take a Butterfly Farm tour in St. Maarten on the French side, Marigot. The Butterfly Farm was a gorgeous place where hundreds of different species of butterflies lived among flowers, plants and the gorgeous Marigot countryside. I love butterflies! 

Random street in St MaartenThis was the cutest little street in Philipsburg, the Dutch capital of St. Maarten. And you bet your bottom dollar that I bought nearly every flavor of chocolate in that authentic Belgian Chocolate Shop! I also found this fantastic homemade jam, rum and spice shop called Ma DouDou located on this street. I bought myself a Coconut Caramel jam that’s to-die for! Everything is made in-house and it’s a family owned, artisanal food shop. Loved it.

Pastry tray on board cruise shipOne of my favorite things about my cruise was touring Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas‘ kitchen! Um, it’s a mega-kitchen, easily the size of my house or larger. On the Oasis of the Seas, everything is prepared in-house for the upwards of 6,000 guests and crew members daily. One thing I was surprised to learn was that Royal Caribbean chefs prepare the fresh-baked pastries daily, including these phyllo cinnamon buns that I couldn’t get enough of. Must copycat this recipe! 

Bacon wrapped jalapenos from cruiseThe group and I had lunch at one of the ship’s renowned restaurants, Sabor. I was so excited since I was having Mexican food withdrawals. Sabor had these incredible bacon-wrapped chicken-stuffed jalapenos as an appetizer… but Barbara from Barbara Bakes and I kept ordering plate after plate! They were spicy, smoky, sweet and drizzled with this fabulous Mexican crema. Thankfully, Barbara recreated them, so grab that recipe! 

Dessert sampler from cruise shipWe also had a great spread of Mexican-inspired desserts, including creme brulee, flan, Ancho chile chocolate crepes, churros, and chocolate & banana empanadas. Oh, how I wish I had this spread in front of me right now.

Scenic photo of Magan's Bay, USVII mean, how can you not fall in love with this!?

Overall, I had an incredible experience and I am so blessed to have gone on this amazing journey! I would love to personally thank the fantastical bloggers I met at the Click Retreat and the AWESOME sponsors who made this trip possible, including Southwest Airlines (for the seamless flights from Sacramento to Fort Lauderdale! — and FREE checked bags!!), Royal Caribbean (for the wonderful accommodations aboard their monster ship), Blurb Books, Sabra Hummus, Chatbooks, Patron, and more! Thank you, thank you, thank you! 

And for more information about Click Retreat, be sure to follow Today’s Mama, the most gracious host for this life-changing conference!

Have a wonderful Sunday!!

xo, Hayley

 

 

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Comments

  1. Jocelyn @BruCrew Life says

    February 3, 2015 at 4:48 am

    Girl, I love St. Maarten too. I’ve been on that street…isn’t it the cutest little island? Sounds like you had an amazing time cruising and learning photog stuff!!! And these cookies? I can totally see why you kept sneaking more…they look delicious!

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      February 3, 2015 at 8:04 am

      Thanks Jocelyn! St. Maarten is the cutest. I’m thinking we should totally have a girl’s trip there!

      Reply
  2. Connie the chocoholic says

    February 7, 2015 at 1:39 am

    OHMYGOD, yes!! finally someone with a recipe for ranger cookies! I tried my first cookie ever 4 years ago at the famous cafe on my campus and have been hooked ever since. thanks for the recipe!!!!!!!!! (<— see those exclamation marks? I'm ecstatic about this)

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      February 8, 2015 at 9:48 am

      Connie, you’re so sweet! I’m so glad you’re as stoked about ranger cookies as I am! When I tried these on the ship, I was HOOKED. These are their doppelganger for sure 🙂 Feel free to add nuts or chips if your campus’ version had those, and ENJOY! XO.

      Reply
  3. Laura Dembowski says

    February 7, 2015 at 5:30 am

    I am about to fall in love with these cookies! They have all my favorite flavors. Love your tropical pics too – it took me away from the snow and ick for a moment 🙂

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      February 8, 2015 at 9:48 am

      Oh my gosh, wish you could have come, Laura! It was heaven on a boat… and I’m not just talking about the cookies (though they definitely played a big part!) 😉 Thanks girl!

      Reply
  4. Jennifer says

    July 9, 2015 at 7:11 am

    Just out of curiosity, what is the purpose of such a small amount of powdered milk? I really want to make these, but don’t want to buy powdered milk for such a small amount. Is there a sub for this?

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      July 9, 2015 at 3:34 pm

      Jennifer – powdered milk adds a wonderful depth of flavor and a chewy texture to the cookies. If you don’t want to use it, feel free to omit it – I’m sure the recipe will be just fine!

      Reply
  5. Bea says

    January 9, 2017 at 4:54 pm

    I was in love with the recipe and went over to today’s mama site for info on the click Retreat but there were no results for that. I am interested in the cruise can you help me with information about it? Thank you!!

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      January 10, 2017 at 3:28 pm

      Hi Bea! The Click Retreat was only for bloggers, I’m sorry to say! But you can obviously learn more about the Royal Caribbean cruise line by visiting their website!

      Reply
  6. Lucy Puglas says

    September 25, 2017 at 8:19 pm

    These were incredible, thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  7. Heather says

    May 8, 2020 at 4:40 pm

    Do you think I could use Malted Milk Powder instead? I can only find a giant box of regular milk powder.

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      May 8, 2020 at 6:20 pm

      Sure!

      Reply
  8. Janet says

    May 17, 2021 at 12:10 pm

    5 stars
    I just found this recipe-they are WONDERFUL cookies!

    Reply
  9. Jamie M Witkowski says

    December 13, 2021 at 11:18 am

    Can this dough be made ahead and refrigerated over night? And if so how would you suggest doing so? I’m trying this recipe for the first time for a cookie party tomorrow and would like to have all my doughs ready.

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      December 15, 2021 at 9:25 am

      Hi Jamie, you could refrigerate the dough covered overnight in the fridge. I would bring the dough back to room temperature in the morning.

      Reply
  10. Ally says

    December 28, 2021 at 7:43 am

    Hello,

    This cookie looks very delicious. I would like to modify this recipe to use as a base for oatmeal coconut cookies. Could I increase the coconut to 1 cup and decrease crushed corn flakes by 1/2 cup? Also, I would like to add chopped nuts, dried mixed berries, and white chocolate chips. What adjustments would I need to make i.e. remove crushed corn flakes? Thank you.

    Reply
    • thedomesticrebel says

      December 29, 2021 at 11:05 am

      Hi Ally, I would just try my oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe instead and add coconut to it.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Caribbean Cruise Travel Tips says:
    February 13, 2015 at 3:28 am

    […] Click Retreat Caribbean: Part Two, Blogging Over Thyme A Week in the Caribbean, Kevin and Amanda Coconut Ranger Cookies {And My Caribbean Vacay Recap!}, The Domestic […]

    Reply
  2. Rebel Favorites. | The Domestic Rebel says:
    February 13, 2015 at 2:37 pm

    […] Marshmallow Cookie Cups, which are a great and easy last-minute Valentine’s Day treat; Coconut Ranger Cookies, which will instantly transport you to a sunny, white-sand beach in the Caribbean; and my Best-Ever […]

    Reply
  3. Royal Caribbean's Coconut Ranger Cookies - Chocolate Chocolate and More! says:
    February 14, 2015 at 5:04 pm

    […] Retreat Caribbean: Part Two | Blogging Over Thyme A Week in the Caribbean | Kevin and Amanda Coconut Ranger Cookies {And My Caribbean Vacay Recap!} | The Domestic Rebel Royal Caribbean Oasis of the Seas Has Something for Everyone | 7 on a […]

    Reply

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About me

Welcome to The Domestic Rebel! My name is Hayley and I am the 31-year old writer, photographer, recipe developer, taste-tester and creator of this blog. I’m so glad you’ve stopped by my little slice of sprinkly, butter-laden heaven on the interwebs. If it wasn’t apparent, I like to bake… a lot. Read More…

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