Oatmeal and Coconut Cookies

If you don't like coconut, don't disregard this recipe. I am not a huge coconut fan (you couldn't pay me to eat a Mounds candy bar) but I love these cookies. The coconut is really subtle but gives the cookies a yummy, chewy texture.

Oatmeal and Coconut Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup shredded, sweetened coconut
1 cup quick oats

Cream together sugars, eggs, butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients and mix well.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a greased or lined (I use parchment paper) cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes.

Rocky Mountain Cookies

These could be my new favorite cookie.  They are for sure my new favorite cookie dough.  Holy smokes, I could eat the whole bowl of this cookie dough.  The rice crispies add this little crunch to the dough that is amazing.  I like to tell myself that these cookies are a little healthier than regular cookies since they have oatmeal and cereal in them.  I'll just keep on telling myself that while I eat the dough one little smiggin at a time.
Some of you may have heard that I decided to boycott our school's cookie dough fundraiser.  I was upset because they offered this "early bird prize" to any kids that sold 4 tubs in the first week.  The prize was this little stuffed frog, that suddenly became the coolest toy in the whole world to every child at the school. And if they earned the frog, everyone knew because they got to go to office and pick it up and then go back to class to show everyone.  In the past, they earned prizes for selling certain amounts, but the prizes just came with the cookie dough and it was never a big deal.  The prizes weren't made public, so there was no peer pressure involved. So, we decided that we would let our friends and family know that we were accepting donations for the school and that we would make homemade cookies for those that donated. This way, the school gets all the money, and my children get a better lesson in helping in the community.
So, if you donate to our school, you just may get a batch of these yummy cookies (or if you just want a bowl of the dough, we could do that too!)  I made a batch of these cookies for my parents yesterday for their donation.  My mom can't have chocolate, so I left the chocolate chips out and added pecans and craisins instead.  They turned out really good.  It's a great recipe!

Rocky Mountain Cookies

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups old-fashioned oats
2 cups Rice Crispies cereal
1 bag chocolate chips

Cream together sugars and butter  Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add flour, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Mix well then fold in oats, cereal, and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoons onto a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly browned.

Chewy Homemade Granola Bars

These have been on my "to make" list for a few months now. I just hadn't made them because I kept forgetting to buy coconut (I know all you list makers are thinking right now "why didn't you write it on your shopping list?" or "Don't you shop with a grocery list?" Well, no, I don't.  See that little blurb in the "about me" section?  See where it says unorganized? Well, I wasn't kidding when I wrote that.  I am the most unorganized person I know.   In fact, that "to make" list I talked about, isn't really even a list...).  So the other day I decided that since I would probably never remember to buy coconut, I wasn't going to wait any longer to make these, and I would just make them without the coconut.  Boy were these a hit with my family.  I ended up making 2 batches in one afternoon, and they were all gone by the next day.  My kids and husband absolutely loved them... my husband especially. They are evidently his new favorite treat. They made the perfect after-school snack for the kiddos. I am not sure if I will ever make them with the coconut, but if I do, I will let you know. 

Chewy Homemade Granola Bars

2 1/2 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup rice krispy cereal
1/4 cup coconut
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
1/2 tsp vanilla

Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix together until combined. Press into a square 8x8 pan. (I cooked one batch in a 11x7 pan and one in a 9x13 pan.  So you can really do any size pan you want, depending on how thick you want the bars.  Just adjust the baking time if you are making them thinner.  I think I did the 9x13 pan for about 15 minutes. The ones pictured are from a 9x13`) Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and score into bars. Let it set completely and then cut into bars.

Oatmeal Caramelitas

This is seriously one of my most favorite treats.  I lu-huv them. In the picture above, they are a lot thinner than normal.  I doubled the recipe and baked them in my jelly-roll pan, but I should have tripled the recipe for that pan.  They were still delish though.  I was reading the reviews for this recipe on allrecipes.com and one person said that they used peanut butter, that they had melted in the microwave, instead of the caramel.  Another person said that they used chopped apples instead of chocolate chips. A lot of people said they added either pecans or walnuts.  You may want to try one of those variations... but I will stick with the way they are... because you can't mess with perfection!

Oatmeal Caramelitas
1 cup flour
1 cup quick oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup milk chocolate chips
3/4 cup caramel topping
3 Tablespoons flour

Mix flour, oats, sugar, soda, salt and butter. Press half of the mixture into a 11x7 pan (or 9x9 square pan) and set the other half aside. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Blend the caramel topping with 3 T. flour. Pour (drizzle) over chocolate chips. Sprinkle the balance of the flour oat mixture over the dessert. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until light brown. Allow to cool and set before slicing.