Recipe: Choco-Oat-Butterscotch-Coconut Crazy Cookies

Wow. Who knew?

They're only slightly less computer savvy than I am.

Welcome to the 21st century, Farmgirl!

Wow. Who knew computer technology had come so far in ten years? Who knew how much better my daily farm photos would look on a fancy flat screen? Who knew it was going to be such an ordeal to set up my brand spanking new computer?

And for those of you who follow along with the comments and were starting to question my eyesight (or my sanity): who knew that you could adjust the brightness on the monitor and suddenly see all kinds of things hiding in the darkness, like New Cat's tail? (If you're now shaking your head in disbelief, please re-read the above photo caption.)

Yep, I'm typing this on my wonderful new computer. I'm still pretty much blogging blindly, but now I look a lot better doing it. I can also blog around a little more quickly, though our speed is limited by a dial-up connection—which I didn't think was a big deal until the other day when a friend said, "You have a website and you're on dial-up?" and burst out laughing. DSL? Cable? Never gonna happen out here. I'm just thrilled we have a local dial-up number.

The arrival of a new computer is definitely cause for celebration. I decided I would make a batch of my Crazy Cookies and rename them Crazy About My New Computer Cookies in honor of this exciting event. But when it was pointed out to me, quite rightly, that my new computer has also been driving me crazy, well, I realized the original name was actually perfect.

These are big, soft cookies that are easy to make and always get rave reviews. As always, I urge you to seek out local and organic ingredients whenever possible. Enjoy!

Farmgirl's Susan's Crazy Cookies

A crazy combination of flavors that works - Makes about 18 large cookies

Melting the butter allows you to skip getting out the electric mixer. It also makes the cookies softer. I simply place a large, stainless steel mixing bowl directly on a gas stovetop burner, set it on low, and melt the butter directly in the bowl, then mix in the rest of the ingredients using a large rubber spatula.

If you can't find butterscotch chips, you might try substituting peanut butter chips or white chocolate chips. Or probably anything else you can think of--this recipe is versatile!

I use unsweetened, organic coconut in any recipe that calls for sweetened flaked or shredded coconut, and have always had great success. It's tasty, inexpensive, doesn't contain any scary ingredients, and can usually be found in the bulk section at natural foods stores.

I highly recommend investing in a couple of heavy duty commercial rimmed baking sheets. At less than $14 each, they're one of the best kitchen deals around. Treat them well—I usually line mine with sheets of unbleached parchment paper, which is wonderful stuff—and they'll last for ages. I've been using the heck out of some of mine for 20 years for everything from baking scones to roasting Brussels sprouts, not to mention thousands of cookies.

1 cup (2 sticks/8 ounces) organic butter, melted*

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups organic all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1-1/2 cups organic old-fashioned oats

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup butterscotch chips

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1/2 cup flaked coconut

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a heavy duty baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper,.

Place the melted butter in a large bowl and stir in the granulated sugar and brown sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla, mixing well.

Stir in the flour, salt, and baking soda (combine these together before adding in if desired), mixing just until combined. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, pecans, and coconut.

The dough will be soft, and the cookies will spread while baking. For slightly thicker cookies, chill the dough for about 30 minutes.

Use a 1/4-cup scoop or measuring cup to form cookies and place on a heavy baking sheet. (Six cookies will fit on a half-size sheet pan.)

Bake until the centers are set, about 15-17 minutes. For crunchier cookies, increase the baking time. (You can also make smaller cookies; just reduce the baking time.)

Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with glasses of very cold milk. Personally I think they taste even better the second day. And, as with nearly all cookies, they freeze beautifully. Just put them in a zipper freezer bag and toss it into the freezer.

Still hungry? You'll find links to all my sweet and savory Less Fuss, More Flavor recipes in the Farmgirl Fare Recipe Index.