Move over cupcakes! It’s National Oatmeal Cookie Day and in my house oatmeal cookies reign.

There’s some debate in the food world about what dessert will take over for cupcakes when the current craze wanes; but in my world cookies have always been king. They’re easy to make, easy to hold and easy to love. They’re not as sweet as cupcakes, not as messy and not as guilt-inducing. With cookies, you can hide all sorts of healthy ingredients in them and still present them as decadent.

When I was searching for a new oatmeal recipe to try, I realized I’ve already presented a few for you to enjoy.
My first post was the Good Carb Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie. In that post, with only one pathetic picture, I mentioned that “I’ve never met an oatmeal cookie I didn’t like” and this still holds true.

http://www.nanaclareskitchen.com/2011/10/24/good-carb-chocolate-oatmeal-cookies/

After this I blogged about: Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies; Healthy Peanut Butter and Honey Oatmeal Cookies and Oatmeal Scotchies.

A few of the bars featured oats, including Easy O’ Henry Bars, Chocolate Oat Bars and Blueberry Almond Energy Bars.
There are also a number of no-bake options including: No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies; Great Balls of Energy and Dr. Oz Peanut Butter and Oat Balls, My Way, which are wildly popular.

Today I want to feature a cookie where oatmeal is the star ingredient, rather than a binder or fiber-booster. One where the oats really shine. If you love oats, as all horses and I do, you’ll love this Toasted Oatmeal and Coconut Cookie. Yes, coconut plays a major role as a costar, but together they’re a great marriage of toasty flavors.

The recipe is adapted from “500 Cookies, Biscuits and Bakes,” by Catherine Atkinson, who wrote this for an Australian audience.
Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Ingredients
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
½ cup sugar
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup all purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Spread oats and coconut on an ungreased baking sheet and bake 5-8 minutes until browned. Check every two minutes and stir to prevent burning.
Meanwhile in a mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugars together.
Add milk and vanilla and continue beating another minute.
Whisk dry ingredients together and add to egg mixture.
Stir in the toasted oats and coconut.
Drop by tablespoonfuls onto greased baking sheet, leaving two inches between cookies.
Grease the bottom of a glass and then dip it in sugar. Flatten each cookie with the sugared glass.
Bake 8 – 10 minutes.

After my test batch, I added ¼ cup more flour. It’s also very humid right now and that can account for the batter being extra soft. The flour made the cookies puffier. And yes, for the last few I added some chocolate chips, just to see if they’d be good and they were a great addition.
But oats are still the star of the show for this toasty crisp cookie.
Happy National Oatmeal Cookie Day!