Last week, my husband suddenly craved oatmeal coconut cookies. He picked up a pack at the store, but I put it back. If he didn't like them, I'd be the one finishing them. Plus, I prefer to avoid store-bought baked goods for health reasons and never want to miss a chance to bake.
As soon as we got home, I pulled out my 1001 Cookie Recipes book from Readers Digest and started hunting for a oatmeal coconut cookie recipe. That book had many cookie recipes featuring coconut as the main ingredient, and I settled on one that was simple to bake, used less butter than the others, and included oats.
In my early baking days, I would have specifically searched for oatmeal cookie recipes without eggs. But now, with a solid understanding of egg substitutions, I simply look for appealing recipes and decide on the best egg substitute based on the ingredients.
For this recipe, the original was already eggless, so I didn't need to think about an egg substitute. I made a minor change by using honey instead of light corn syrup. I figured corn syrup might not be a common pantry ingredient, whereas honey is more likely to be on hand.
If you want to bake these as vegan cookies, you can use corn syrup, maple syrup, or agave nectar and vegan butter substitute or oil.
These oatmeal coconut cookies was a super-duper hit with my husband and kids. It was a crispy cookie but did soften a bit after a day or two.
What others have to say about this recipe?
Thanks for sharing this recipe. This is the second time i am going to make these. I substituted whole wheat with APF, used unsweetened coconut flakes, and also used ½ cup of molasses instead of sugar. sweetness was just perfect for me and kids.
Thanks again!
Just made these! I halved the recipe and they came out delicious but they definitely did not spread at all. It doesn’t matter though because they are so good. I’m glad the recipe said to smoosh them with a fork or else I wouldn’t have thought to do that. They are pretty perfect. The coconut adds just the right flavor and I was looking for a recipe that used it cause I had some lying around. Thanks so much for this cookie recipe! Will definitely be making them again!
I have a separate page for eggless oatmeal cookies if you are looking for more ideas to bake cookies using oats.
Recipe
Oatmeal Coconut Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Shredded Coconut (I used sweetened)
- 1 cup Quick Cooking Oats (I used large flake)
- ½ cup Butter
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 tablespoons Honey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F for 15 minutes. Butter two cookie sheets.
- In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir in the coconut and oats.
- Melt the butter with the sugar and honey in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove it from the stove and let it cool for 2 minutes.
- Pour the melted butter mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well with a spatula.
- Roll into balls the size of walnuts and place 1 inch apart on the baking sheet and flatten it slightly with a fork.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. If using 2 cookie sheets, shift racks halfway through the baking to ensure even browning. Mine turned golden brown after 13 minutes itself. I think it's because of the dark coated cookie sheet.
- Let the cookies cool on the sheets until they firm slightly. Then using a spatula carefully lift the cookies and transfer it to a cooling rack to cool completely.
My Notes
- I used one extra large cookie sheet I recently purchased from Walmart. It was a dark coated non stick pan. Usually cookies baked on such dark coated sheets turn brown very quickly, so I lined it with parchment paper.
- The recipe did not mention whether to use sweetened or unsweetened coconut. I had the sweetened one, so I used it. I think if I had used the unsweetened variety the sweetness of the cookies would have been perfect for us.
- Light corn syrup was mentioned in the recipe. I had that in hand, but I anticipated that some of you might ask what can be substituted for it. So I used honey. I think either omitting this or reducing the quantity of sugar to ½ cup will also work if you want less sweeter cookies.
- These coconut cookies spread a lot, so be sure to leave enough space while placing the dough on the baking sheets.
Taste & Texture
- These oatmeal coconut cookies are delightfully sweet, with a perfect balance of crisp edges and a chewy center when freshly baked. After 2-3 days, they soften around the edges but remain just as tasty. They have a rich, buttery aroma when enjoyed fresh. While we loved the flavor, I plan to tweak the recipe next time to reduce the sweetness.
Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating!