Old-fashioned, buttery, and full of coconut flavor, these are my new favorite oatmeal cookies.
A few months ago I came across an oatmeal coconut cookie recipe that sounded so good I immediately pushed it to the top of my Want To Make list. The cookies didn't live up to my expectations, so I decided to come up with a recipe that did.
These thin, chewy cookies are easy to make and hard to stop eating. As we munched on the first test batch,
my hunky farmguy Joeand I talked about adding all sorts of things to the batter—chocolate chips, raisins, dried cranberries, dried apricots, almonds—but decided we loved them plain. They taste even better the next day, and they freeze beautifully.
If you've never tasted natural, unsweetened shredded coconut, you're in for a real treat. The coconut flavor really comes through, and unlike the highly processed sweetened stuff, it doesn't contain preservatives like propylene glycol and sodium metabisulfite. If you can't find unsweetened coconut at your supermarket or natural foods store (check the bulk section), you can thankfully order it online.
I've been buying Bob's Red Mill brand, which is about $12 for four 12-ounce bags at amazon. It tastes great in baked goods (like this scrumptious
Lemon Coconut Quick Bread), and you can also soak it in warm water and use it in place of fresh coconut. I even toss it in our morning smoothies. Unsweetened coconut keeps best in the refrigerator or freezer.
A couple of heavy duty commercial rimmed baking sheetsare a great investment, and at about $12 each, one of the best kitchen deals around. Treat them well—I usually line mine with sheets of unbleached parchment paper, which is wonderful stuff—and they'll last for ages. I've been using the heck out of some of mine for 20 years for everything from
baking sconesto
roasting Brussels sprouts, not to mention baking thousands of cookies.
It's easy to make nice round cookies if you portion out the dough with a scoop. I own five or six different sizes and have had some of them for 20 years too. For these cookies I used a 1½ Tablespoon scoop. I also made some using an Oxo Good Grips small 2 teaspoon scoop (putting 20 cookies per baking sheet), but preferred the larger size.
Farmgirl Susan's Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
Makes about 3 dozen 3¼-inch thin cookies
**Click here to print this recipe**
Ingredients vary, and how much your cookies spread will depend on the oats, flour, coconut, and even the brand of butter you're using. The weather can affect baking, too. I've made several batches of these, and no two have come out exactly the same (although they all taste great).
For slightly thicker cookies, omit the 2 Tablespoons of milk. If you want the cookies to spread a little more, add another Tablespoon or two of milk to the batter.
As always, I urge you to seek out local and organic ingredients; they really do make a difference. Organic flours, organic rolled oats, andorganic sugarsare readily available these days. Look for farm fresh eggs like
these beauties laid by our hensat your local farmers' market (find one by searching on
LocalHarvest.org). You won't believe how good they taste.
Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks/8 ounces) salted organic butter, melted
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons organic milk (or more, see note above)
2 large farm fresh eggs
1½ cups organic all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups organic rolled oats (sometimes called old-fashioned oats; NOT instant or quick cooking oats)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a heavy duty baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper (when I bake cookies, I just use the same piece of parchment for the entire batch).
Melt the butter and place it in a large mixing bowl. (I melt my butter in a large stainless steel mixing bowl set right over the lowest heat on a gas oven burner, then add the rest of the ingredients to it).
Using a large rubber spatula, stir in the brown sugar and granulated sugar. Add the vanilla, milk, and eggs and stir until well combined.
Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and stir until blended. Stir in the oats and coconut.
Using a 1½ Tablespoon round scoop, drop the cookies onto the prepared baking sheet (I put 12 cookies per sheet).
Bake until golden brown, about 13 to 15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack. Store in an airtight container for two to three days or freeze.
You might also enjoy these other Farmgirl Fare cookie recipes:
All Natural Honey Peanut Butter Cookies
Baby Shortbread Cookies with Mini Chocolate Chips and Toffee Bits
Big, Soft, and Chewy Molasses Ginger Spice Cookies with Raisins
Big, Soft, and Chewy Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Raisin Cookies (and how to hug a sheep)
Chocolate Biscotti for Beginners
Giant Yip Yap Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip or Raisin Banana Snaps
Little Molasses Ginger Spice Snaps
Nigella's Big Chocolate Chip Cookies Two Ways
Can't survive on cookies alone? You'll find links to all my sweet and savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index.
©
FarmgirlFare.com, the coco loco foodie farm blog where Farmgirl Susan shares recipes, stories, and photos from her crazy country life on 240 remote Missouri acres—and there are always cookies on the counter and/or in the freezer.
