Da Kine Cookie Recipe has one simple dough. You get to pick the add-ins. The raw dough can be used for all the cookie recipe variations you dream up. Here I have made chocolate-walnut, mango-macadamia, pineapple-coconut, and toasted pecan with raisins.
As always, in Poppy's Wild Kitchen, the mind-blowing part is how wholesome they are. Yep, these golden-edged, chewy cookies are whole-grain, gluten-free, eggless, dairy-free, and don't have any refined sugar.
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Top Tip
Toast whole nuts before chopping so the small pieces won't burn. Heat a cast-iron skillet to medium, add nuts and stir constantly until lightly golden. Adds amazing flavor to your cookies!
What are the best cookie add-ins?
This cookie dough works with all sorts of combinations of fillings. Any fruit should be dried, not fresh and candies should stand up to heat and not melt at high temperature.
Here are some of the favorite combinations we have tested.
- Toasted macadamia and white chocolate chip
- Mini chocolate chips doubled (skip the nuts)
- Chopped chocolate bar and toasted walnuts
- Dried pineapple and coconut flakes
- Dried mango and toasted macadamia nuts
- Toasted pecan and raisin
- Pistachio and dried cherries
- Toasted walnut and chopped dates
- Toasted hazelnut, orange zest and chocolate chips
- Flaked coconut and white raisins
What does da kine mean?
If you're wondering why they are called Da Kine cookies, you probably didn't grow up in Hawaii. That's because all the keiki in the islands understand the meaning of da kine long before they can write the phrase. But don't ask them or anyone else to tell you what it means. They are likely to say anything.
Now, I don't mean that those in the know will tell you all sorts of different things. Instead, I mean they are likely to tell you that it means "anything." At least that's what happened to me the first time I asked my son to explain da kine.
We had just moved to Hawaii, and he was attending high school. Thus, he had a faster immersion into the local culture than I did waiting tables for tourists.
So, I asked him one afternoon to clue me in. The conversation went something like this: "Son, what does da kine mean?" "Oh, it means anything." "Anything?" I asked, puzzled.
To which he replied; "well, not literally anything." "Can you give an example of how the kids at school use it?" "Sure, today my friend asked me to hand him da kine while standing on a ladder." "What did you hand him?" "A screwdriver."
Exasperated I said "so, da kine means screwdriver??? " At that point, my son rolled his eyes, and rushing out the door with his surfboard under arm, blurted, "Gotta go, Mom."
Perhaps you aren't as confused as I was back then. If so, you can relate to the oft-used definition of thingamajig or whatchamacallit.
But the truth is, da kine is so much more. It's not just a handy title for a singular thing you don't know or remember the name of. Among many nuances, da kine can refer to a place, group of people, and ultimately a whole string of events.
Want an example? Ok, here goes. Sarah asks Noelani, "Where da kine go?" This means, where did Kasey and Aram go?
Noelani replies, "Wen go da kine." This means Kasey and Aram went to Trevor's house to pick up some duct tape.
Then Sarah says, "Bettah da kine, ya?" This means, pack the beach snacks before Kasey and Aram return with Trevor and the duct tape.
Then Noelani replies, "Yeah, she all da kine." Which means Cindy is super sad. That's because she's waiting on the beach with Kai and a broken paddleboard paddle.
So, Sarah and Noelani will hustle. Then they'll be ready to leave when Kasey, Aram, and Trevor return with the duct tape. Once the five friends join Kai and Cindy on the beach, she won't be sad. She knows soon her paddle will be all da kine, (wrapped with duct tape and ready to use.)
I think this is beautiful, don't you? There is an intimacy with the culture that uses da kine. It's expected, and usually the case, that you know your friend so well that one phrase can convey a ton of meaning. Old, young, and people of different native languages benefit from this all-purpose idiom.
Like our favorite all-purpose expression, this soft and chewy cookie recipe is your go-to cookie dough. I have given suggestions in the recipe for extras. However, you know best what you love. Once you mix in your favorite sweet, crunchy, toasty, or melty add-ins, they are truly da KINE. And that means the BEST!
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I would be thrilled to know if you tried this recipe? Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #poppyswildkitchenrecipes on Instagram. Aloha!
📖 Recipe
Da Kine Cookie Recipe - 1 Dough
Ingredients
- 72 grams (¾ cup) oats
- 180 grams (1 ½ cups) almond flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ cup melted vegan butter
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- ¾ cup pecan halves, walnut halves, macadamia nuts or flaked coconut
- ¾ cup choice of mini chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, dried mango, dried pineapple or raisins
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Adjust baking rack to middle shelf.
Toast nuts, chop dried fruit
- If using nuts, toast them whole in a dry skillet. Then chop into large raisin-sized pieces. Place in refrigerator to chill while mixing cookie dough.
- Cut large pieces of dried fruit in raisin-sized pieces.
- If using bar chocolate, chop your favorite chocolate bar into raisin-sized pieces.
Make cookie dough
- Grind oats to an even flour. Place in a medium size mixing bowl. Add almond flour. Sift baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon over top. Whisk dry ingredients together.
- Whisk melted vegan butter, maple syrup, and vanilla in a small bowl until very well blended.
- Stir dry ingredients and wet ingredients together to make cookie dough.
Mix add-ins with cookie dough
- Stir in 3/4/adjustable] cup of toasted chopped nuts or coconut flakes and ¾cup of chocolate or dried fruit of choice.
- Scoop ⅛ level cup, (2 tablespoons) of cookie dough into a ball. Place 3 inches apart on a parchment or Silpat lined baking sheet. Flatten dough to approximately two and a half inches wide. Cookies will spread as they bake and finished cookies will be three inches wide.
Bake cookies
- Bake 12-14 minutes, or until both edges and bottoms are lightly golden. Allow cookies to firm on the cookie sheet a few minutes before transferring to a rack to cool.
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