Coconut Oatmeal Cookies are wonderful. Oatmeal Cookies have never tasted as good as these ones loaded with coconut! They were always a childhood favorite growing up. My mom used to make these cookies for us regularly when we were kids.

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I would gobble up three or four cookies and a glass of milk in no time. Mom used to make her cookies a lot smaller than I do. Mom’s cookies were about the size of a 50 cent-piece. So, one and a half of her cookies equals about one of mine! Still we exercised so much as kids. (Not intentionally, we just played hard back then and TV was still a novelty). We were all skinny as rails and ate all the time!

I have no idea where she got the original recipe. She used to use a fundraiser cookbook from the Belleview, Washington, school district, circa 1950s a lot when she baked cookies. It was 11 inches tall but only about 3 or 4 inches wide with a blue cover.

Many of the teachers, staff, even principals submitted cookie recipes for this book. You can tell it was printed on one of those old ditto machines common in that era. (Most of you probably have no idea what I’m talking about!)

Anyway there is a recipe for Coconut Oatmeal Cookies in that book. But if that is the one my mom used, she made substantial changes to it. (Which was never typical of my mom. She usually followed a recipe to a T).

It has most of the same ingredients but both white and brown sugar instead of just brown, and a significantly lower amount of oatmeal. That recipe also called for the recipe to be refrigerated and then sliced and baked. Mom never did that. So I have no idea when and where she found this recipe.

This recipe has to be made with shortening, NOT BUTTER!!! I made that mistake about ten years ago and the cookies all ran together on the cookie sheet. It was a disaster.

This is a very simple, inexpensive recipe. Granted, I keep a larger pantry than most people, so I can have stuff on hand to make meals for people at a moment’s notice. Most of these ingredients are ones most cooks would keep on hand, too.

If you’re looking for a quick, easy, and economical cookie recipe, this one sure is. It’s also tasty and delicious, and as I said earlier, one of my favorite cookie recipes.

It has been 13 months since I first posted this recipe the second day I began this food blog. I’ve remade these cookies (July 2013). I’ve added some fresh pictures to help you see the step-by-step process I used in making these great cookies.

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies were probably my most requested cookie recipe growing up. My mom made them frequently, and I’ve made them a good bit down through the years too. If you like coconut and oatmeal,  I think you’ll enjoy these cookies if you try them.

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies are a wonderful treat for after school snacks. I loved eating these when I got home from school every day.

No, Mom NEVER let me eat this many in one sitting. 

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies are pretty easy to make up. Each batch makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies. Unfortunately, these cookies won’t set up properly if you use butter. They will flatten out entirely, so you must use Crisco shortening in these cookies to get them to turn out correctly.

These cookies are terrific for potlucks or family reunions.

Here’s what I did.

Place Crisco shortening in a large mixing bowl. I was making a double batch so the ingredients are multiplied here. Add sugar, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla.

Add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cream with an electric mixer until smooth. You can see the difference in the texture using shortening versus butter. Shortening whips up more volume and is fluffier to work with.

Add UNBLEACHED all-purpose flour. Bleached flour toughens baked goods. 

Add coconut and oatmeal.

Stir ingredients with a wooden spoon to combine.

Roll dough into balls and place on cookie sheets that have been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Press dough lightly with fork in criss-cross pattern. Don’t be heavy handed with the fork or the cookie dough will break apart and lose its round shape.

Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes — uh, this batch was DONE in six minutes so check your time. Your oven may bake these up fast!

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies are so delicious. I can eat, eat, EAT them! 

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies are a great snack for picnics because they transport well.

 These cookies also freeze well if you need to bake them ahead of time. 

This is a superb oatmeal cookie. If you like coconut, the combination of coconut and oatmeal is wonderful.

Here’s the recipe.

COCONUT OATMEAL COOKIES

(Recipe from my mom, Helen Mattis, Titusville, FL)

Ah, Coconut Oatmeal Cookies with a tall glass of milk. That’s the ticket!

Coconut Oatmeal Cookies have been one of the cookies I’ve made almost every year for our Christmas Cooking Baking Extravaganza. We bake between 4,000 and 5,000 cookies each year and give them away to family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.

This is a sweeter oatmeal cookie than many recipes, because it has both white sugar and brown sugar, plus the coconut. Take a tray of these cookies to your kid’s school and they’ll be gobbled down instantly! 

You may also enjoy these delicious cookies!

Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Oatmeal Scotchies

Cinnamon Cookies