Teacher’s Favorite Cookies
I make these cookies all the time. They're my favorite go-to recipe when I want to take someone something delicious but might be short on time and I have to say out of the dozens of times I've made them, never once have I not been asked to please provide the recipe! These cookies were my son's teachers absolute favorite cookie and she asked me to make them for her several times during the year. Since this is the last week of school for many of you, I recommend making a batch of these for your child's teacher...he or she will surely remember your child for years to come. If you're feeling extra nice, print out the recipe for them on a little card. Oh, and don't forget to double the recipe---you're definitely going to want to keep a batch for yourself!!
Ingredients:
½ cup butter, if you use salted butter, omit the ¼ teaspoon of salt below
½ cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened will do
1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans (or macadamia nuts)
Directions:
Preheat oven to Convection Bake at 325 degrees (if your oven does not have that feature, preheat to 350 degrees on bake). Grease a 9x13 pan with butter. Melt the butter, brown sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir about 3-4 minutes until the brown sugar is no longer grainy. Remove from heat, add vanilla and stir. In a medium bowl, stir together oats, baking powder, salt, coconut and nuts. Add the butter mixture and stir to combine well. Pour the mixture into the pan. Lightly coat your fingers with butter or cooking spray and press the mixture evenly into the pan. Bake for 20 minutes if using convection bake and up to 25 minutes if using standard bake setting. Let bars cool and and cut with a serrated knife into square bars. If you double the recipe, a 12” x 17” sheet pan works great, just be sure there is at least a one inch lip on the sides as the oatmeal mixture will rise a bit as it cooks.
*I've adapted this recipe from the Oatmeal Crisps in The Pastry Queen cookbook by Rebecca Rather...my favorite "sweet" cookbook.