Today we’re sharing a recipe for Red Hots Cookies. These cinnamon candy cookies are absolutely delicious and were one of our most successful experimental recipes!
All about Red Hots Cookies
We had a box of red hots candies that nobody in the house was eating. We thought, why not use our basic coconut oil cookie recipe which is absolutely amazing and replace the chocolate chips with crushed up red hots candies. To our surprise, this turned out to be a wonderful combination of our favorite coconut oil cookies with the most amazing cinnamon twist. The crushed up red hots candies lend something else that can’t even be put into words how with each bite you get a little cinnamon candy burst.
These coconut oil red hots cookies seem like regular chocolate chip recipe with a slight variation. This variation is replacing part of the butter with coconut oil. This small addition of coconut oil gives the cookies an incredible depth of flavor and an amazing cookie texture. We’re also sharing our tips and tricks to make these cookies turn out perfect.
Red Hots Cookies
The most delicious cinnamony, chewy, red hots candy cookies!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted measure in solid form
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cups flour, of your choice we use part all purpose and part whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 box red hots candies, chopped or crushed
Instructions
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In a medium sized bowl, measure and melt your coconut oil and butter in the microwave. Add this melted oil and butter to your stand mixer.
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Add the granulated and brown sugar to the stand mixer and mix until combined. Add vanilla extract and eggs and mix until smooth.
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In a medium sized bowl, mix all dry ingredients together including flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cornstarch.
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Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Fold in the red hots candy pieces.
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Cover and chill dough for at least 1-2 hours or overnight if possible. The longer you chill the dough, you may need to let it sit on the counter for a few minutes and let it come up to temperature before scooping.
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll cookies into 1 1/2 tablespoon balls. We find an ice cream scoop is the perfect sized cookie dough balls. Place cookie dough balls on a sheet pan lined with parchment or silpat liner.
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Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes. We find 11 minutes is the perfect baking time in our oven. Cool cookies on a cooling rack.
Can you substitute coconut oil for butter in cookies?
When you are looking to replace butter with coconut oil, it can generally be substituted at a 1:1 ratio. However, when baking you need to be aware that butter gives cookies a different flavor and has a higher water content than coconut oil.
Therefore, not all cookie recipes allow for coconut oil to perfectly replace butter. It definitely depends on the individual recipe, so it’s best to use a recipe that already calls for coconut oil. This specific recipe replaces half of the butter with coconut oil which we found to be the perfect balance of using coconut oil in the cookies.
Is coconut oil healthier than butter?
Coconut oil has been making its way as a healthy alternative to butter and several other oils/fats. There is a great deal of information on the health benefits of coconut oil. One of these benefits has been that coconut oil helps increase the good cholesterol (HDL) levels. With that said, it may not help depending on how many of these cookies you eat.
Please see our previous post on the many benefits of coconut oil and how we use it to learn more about coconut oil and its uses.
How long do these red hot cookies stay fresh?
Let’s be honest, these and most cookies taste the best the same day they are made. With that said, these cookies will last a couple of days in an airtight container at room temperature. After that, they do lose their texture, flavor and become less soft.
We’d love to hear what you think about this recipe and about your favorite money saving hacks. Share the love!! Let us know in the comments below. Thank you for visiting Sunup to Sundown! Please subscribe, like or share this post with others who could benefit from it.