0 Oatmeal Coconut Walnut Cookies

My mom believes that a cookie without chocolate is always better for you than one that contains chocolate. I don't know where she got that idea, but I learned long ago not to argue with her on this point (as well as many other points). Anyways, she likes these oatmeal coconut walnut cookies and doesn't mind if my niece and nephews have more than one cookie at a time. As the name implies, these cookies have oatmeal (grain), coconut (fruit) and walnuts (good fat, some protein), but they also have lots of butter and sugar. I'm not really complaining since butter and sugar are the cornerstones of a super yummy cookie. This time I made the cookies following the recipe but in the past I've also made them with chopped chocolate in place of half of the walnuts. But please don't tell my mom.



Oatmeal Coconut Walnut Cookies
(adapted from Tish Boyle's "The Good Cookie")
(makes 5 dozen cookies)

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups quick cooking rolled oats
8 ounces (2 sticks/1 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room temp
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease or line your cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir in oatmeal. Set aside dry ingredients.

In the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed, cream butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.

On low speed, add flour-oatmeal mixture and mix until just blended. Add coconut and walnuts and mix until just combined.

Drop tablespoonfuls of dough onto your prepared cookies sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Flatten the mounds of dough slightly. Bake at 375F until golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. Cool cookies on sheets for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.