Mother’s Day is just around the corner, which means two things for me. First, I am planning on not cooking this Sunday, or even parenting much at all (that’s how I like my Mother’s Day, nice and lazy). Second, I’m teaming up with Fair Trade USA once again to celebrate the amazing women farmers of fair trade! I think this might be my 4th Fair Trade Mother’s Day recipe and giveaway…I’ve lost track! Anyway, since it’s not Mother’s Day quite yet, I am still in the kitchen and today I’ve cooked up a batch of double chocolate coconut cookies that I am certain you will love.

But before we get to the recipe we need to meet a farmer. And do a giveaway, which includes tons of awesome fair trade goodies. Let’s go!

This year Fair Trade is focusing on the women of fair trade through their #FairHer campaign. Like ONE, another non-profit organization I work with frequently, Fair Trade recognizes how important it is to help women in order to tackle poverty. In fact, you can’t tackle poverty without focusing on women. And the work Fair Trade does empowers women in many ways, especially given that women produce more than 50% of the world’s food (ummmm…btw…they only own 2% of the land).

To make this all a little more real, I’d like you to meet one of those women farmers, Virginia Jimenez, a sugar cane farmer & member of the CORA Cooperative, a Fair Trade Certified organic sugar producer in Paraguay. Gimenez has been involved with sugar cane all her life, as both her father and late husband were sugar cane producers. Her late husband, Mario Miranda, joined CORA in 2010 and died a year later. Gimenez, a mother of four, has taken over as the CORA-affiliated producer.

Here are a few of Virginia’s thoughts: “For us, the access to machinery that CORA provides is key for our annual production [note: according to CORA, they are able to lend the use of machinery at low or no cost by using some of the Fair Trade premium fund]. I also like the ideals behind CORA. Their strict rules are good for our society. For example, the controls regarding the use of child labor is very good. The safety workshops have also been great help. And the idea of producing organic sugar cane without chemicals is very important. My husband believed strongly in this. If we were able to increase our earnings, whether from sales or from the premium fund, I would like to see our health services improved. We do not have medical attention here on a daily basis. If a poisonous snake bites someone, we have to go really far.”

So, keep an eye out for that fair trade symbol on the food you buy. It’s helping wonderful women like Virginia. A sincere thank you to Virginia for sharing her story and thoughts with us!

I mentioned a giveaway, didn’t I? Fair Trade USA sent me a package of goodies to provide inspiration for today’s recipe, and one of you lucky people will receive the same package! It just might be their best one yet. Click here to read about all of the products included!

Here’s how to enter the giveaway! (Comments must be posted by Midnight PT 5/11/16):

• Simply leave a comment on this post! That’s it!
• Bonus entry: Follow Fair Trade Certified on Facebook (leave a separate comment for bonus entry, if you already follow just let us know!)
• Bonus entry: Join the This Week for Dinner email newsletter list! (leave a separate comment for bonus entry, if you already subscribe just let us know!)

I think it’s time to get cooking with all these yummy fair trade ingredients!

Today’s cookies may not be fancy but they are pretty much perfect. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, these chocolate cookies are filled with dark chocolate and coconut, one of my favorite flavor combinations. And there are so many ingredients in these cookies that can go fair trade, from the sugar to the vanilla to the chocolate! For this batch I used Guittard’s organic semisweet chocolate baking wafers, which are my favorite chocolate chips to use in any cookie recipe. I also used Lake Champlain’s organic unsweetened cocoa, another fabulous chocolate source that I can’t get enough of.

Enjoy! And Happy Mother’s Day!

Double Chocolate Coconut Cookies

 

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Prep time

12 mins

Cook time

14 mins

Total time

26 mins

 

Author: Jane Maynard

Serves: 3 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1½ cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Generous ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 2½ cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 cup unsweetened coconut (I love wide sliced)
• 1½ cups semisweet chocolate chips (I love Guittard's baking wafers)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350º F.
2. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, mix together the butter, sugar and brown sugar on medium speed for approximately 5 minutes. (Yes, 5 MINUTES...you want it to mix for a long time.)
3. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix on medium speed for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Place a sifter over the bowl and add the salt, baking powder, baking soda, flour and cocoa powder to the sifter, then sift the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Mix on low until just mixed.
5. Add coconut and chocolate chips and mix with a large spoon until evenly distributed.
6. Place dough in 2-tablespoon dough balls on a cookie sheet, leaving a few inches between each cookie.
7. Bake for about 12-14 minutes. The cookies shouldn't look wet beneath the surface (if that makes sense).
8. When you take them out of the oven, drop the pan flat onto the counter or stovetop to force the cookies to settle.
9. Let cool a few minutes before eating. Cool completely before storing in an airtight container. Dough balls can also be frozen and cookies cooked from a frozen state, you just may need to add 1 or 2 minutes to the cook time.

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