My Man’s Cookies

One of the reasons I love Christmas so much is cookies.

My mom, grandma, aunt and I always make mass amounts of sugar cookies with a recipe we’ve had in the family for forever. These cute reindeer-and-star-shaped sugar cookies, once baked, either end up slathered in green & red frosting or dotted with shimmery non-pareils.

But sugar cookies aren’t the only cookies we bake over the holidays. No, no. We’ve been known to make no-bake cookies, ranger cookies, chocolate-chip and Italian wedding cookies. Needless to say, our houses are usually brimming with tins full of cookies during Christmas.

One of my favorite cookies to make during the holiday season is something called, “My Man’s Cookies”. These cookies are  chunky little guys stuffed full of oats, coconut & pecans. They are only slightly sweet, with only 1 cup of brown sugar in the whole double dozen, which is what I like most about them. I’m not really a fan of sinfully sweet desserts, so these cookies really hit the spot.

So, why should we relegate these cookies to the last month of the year? Why can’t we make these cookies in, say, mid-May?

That’s exactly what I did last weekend, and I have to say—it was wonderful. It was a tasty little snippet of Christmas right in the middle of the year!

These spoon-and-drop cookies don’t have to look beautiful; what really counts is what is on the inside. This recipe makes a little over a double dozen,= leaving you with plenty of cookies to take with you to work or to send off with your kids to school. I’d like to think they’re healthy, since they have oats & nuts in them, but I’m sure they’re not since they ARE cookies. Try them out during the holiday season—unless you’re like me and just can’t wait six months to eat them 😉

My Man’s Cookies

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups old fashion or quick oats
• 2 cups chopped pecans
• 2 cups unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together sugar and shortening until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla and beat together. In another small bowl, combine coconut flakes and 1/2 cup of regular sugar. Toss to coat with sugar (you can skip this step if you buy sweetened coconut, I just think sweetened coconut is way too sweet).
2. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture and stir to combine and form dough. Add the oatmeal, coconut and pecans and mix until just combined.
3. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Spoon cookie dough onto baking sheet, making sure cookies are about 2″ apart from each other. Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly golden.