Chewy Chocolate, Oatmeal, Coconut Cookies

          Cookies are cool because they are absolutely ingredient driven.  Whether it’s the pure simplicity of a butter or sugar cookie  or the lumpy texture of a chocolate chunk, you know what you are going to be tasting.  This is unless the cookie has a silly name, like a Lu Lu or something, but I don’t think I eat any of those cookies.  Well, I do eat Tam Tams from Australia when I can so that’s not true.  My insight into Islamic cookies so far is that they are exquisitely beautiful and also delicious (ingredient driven, too), but have unsettling body part references like Fatimah’s Fingers.  Mmm.

          Go back to Cookies Till They Come to catch the storyline and understand where we are.  If you’ve read along, you will recall that one of the ingredients I bought in bulk this week was coconut.  For this cookie, I certainly did consider an upfront coconut feature, like macaroons, but I feared that basing all of the cookies on a nut or dried fruit might make them all seem like Middle Eastern treats, which is nice, but doesn’t necessarily say Merry Christmas.  Chocolate and oatmeal are what we need to make everyone feel at home.  The coconut just snuggles right along side.

Chewy Chocolate, Oatmeal, Coconut Cookies

Ingredients 

1 cup butter, softened 

1 1/4 cups packed brown sugar 

1/2 cup white sugar 

2 eggs 

2 tablespoons milk 

2 teaspoons vanilla extract 

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

3 cups rolled oats 

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional) 

1 cup shredded coconut

Directions 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). 

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the sugar mixture until well blended. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips. walnuts and coconut until evenly distributed. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. 

Bake 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven for a chewy cookie or 14 minutes for a firmer cookie. 

Cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet and then remove to wire rack. Cool completely and then store in tightly sealed container.