White Chocolate Chip, Pistachio, Coconut, Guava and Dried Pear Cookies.

As crazy as these cookies sound from the title, they were out of necessity.  I found a cookie recipe that sounded delicious but I didn't have all of the ingredients, so I used what I had and they were amazing.  This makes a very compact cookie, just enough dough to hold everything together.  But sometimes you don't want a plain cookie, sometimes you want a cookie stuffed with lots of good things from the baking cupboard.

Feel free to use the dough as a base and use whatever additions you have - semisweet chocolate chips, any dried fruit or nuts that you have lying around and you need to use up - just keep amounts to the measurements called for. 

White Chocolate Chip, Pistachio, Coconut, Guava and Dried Pear Cookies
Adapted from In The Sweet Kitchen by Regan Daley
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup white chocolate chips or chunks
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pistachios
3/4 cup dried pears, cut into small pieces
1/4 cup dried guava squares

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until well-blended, then beat in the egg and vanilla extract.  Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt, then add to the butter mixture.  Stir in all of your additions and mix well, making sure everything is evenly incorporated.

Pinch off walnut-sized pieces of dough and roll it into a ball, packing tightly.  Place the dough balls on the prepared baking sheet and flatten them slightly.  Bake until they're just barely golden on the outside for chewy cookies, about 12-15 minutes, or longer for crispier cookies.

Let them cool completely, then store airtight up to 1 week.