I added an extra cup of coconut for these and used butter instead of margarine... Turned out just like Mom's! Without the extra coconut these would have been too runny, I think. Also, a tip... It's VITAL that you let the butter, sugar & coconut cook together until totally smooth. If you rush it, your cookies will turn out grainy & crumbly. They need cook cook together at a BOIL for at least 2 min. You'll know its ready when the mixture is completely, silky smooth. Also-- stir constantly. The sugar will burn if you stop stirring while cooking, giving your cookies a burnt, icky taste. DON'T STOP STIRRING!
I've been making these for years and they are delish! My family's favorite variation that I make quite often is I add 1 cup peanut butter to the butter/sugar mixture in the saucepan. Either way these are excellent, chewy and chocolately, definitely need to be kept cold to keep them from getting too soft. I love them right out of the freezer! Give this recipe a try, you'll be glad you did!
I don't understand how people can have such different results from the same recipe! I followed the recipe exactly and even went back and checked proportions and directions. These turned out extremely dry for me and I had a hard time getting them to hold their shape without crumbling and falling apart. I like that they don't have peanut butter and do have coconut. I just think the proportions of liquid to dry ingredients is wrong somehow.
I have been making these cookies for decades. After reading comments I just want to add that the boiling time is key to these. If you don't boil it long enough they are gooey and/or grainy and if too long, they are dry and crumbly. Practice makes perfect :)
I have the exact same recipe (amounts and product) at home; only difference is that you should boil the milk/butter/sugar mixture (I add the cocoa after, but that's preference and I use butter instead of margarine) for 4-5 minutes. You need to move SUPER quickly when dropping these on wax paper, as the mixture will harden quickly once the oats/coconut (and chocolate, in my case) are added. I don't find them gooey at all, and have been making this recipe this way for years (it was my grandmother's recipe). Give it a try, they are soooo good!
These taste GREAT.. I especially like that they don't have peanut butter and I LOOOOVE the coconut. But they came out a tad bit too gooey. You almost have to keep them in the freezer to eat them. I think maybe if you throw in a handful of chocolate chips or maybe some almond bark and melt with the butter mixture that these cookies would be more firm when they cooled! Will definitely try that next time I make these! Thanks for the recipe!
I made this recipe today and I am eating a cookie as I write this review. I made 3 tiny changes only and the end result is excellent. I used unsalted butter instead of margarine. I added about a 1/4 tsp of salt and 1 tbsp. of golden syrup as I read another recipe that proclaimed golden syrup was the secret ingredient for this type of cookie. The reviews liked the golden syrup. These cookies formed well and after being left to cool and harden they are NOT gooey or sticky they are perfect so this will now be my keeper recipe.
I added 2 cups coconut and 1/2 cup peanut butter. The trick to knowing when the boiling is done is the way my Momma used to do it. Take a glass of cold tap water And after a couple of minutes boiling use the spoon and let a drop of the sauce fall to the bottom of the glass. If it looks like a tadpole it is called a soft boil and it is ready. Too early and it will splatter. Perfect cookies using that method. Also I never go above medium heat. Patience will make them perfect. Oh yes...and I always add 1Tsp of Vanilla!!!
I used coconut oil instead of margarine. They came out great! Next time I make them I'll choose another sweetener rather than refined sugar.
