Coconut Oat Cookies

Coconut Oat Cookies are sweet little egg-free cookies that are filled with good for you oatmeal and tasty coconut. You can make the dough ahead of time, and store it in the freezer too, so that you can bake cookies on the spur of the moment!  Making this a quick and easy recipe.

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These Coconut oatmeal cookies are crispy on the edges and have a nice chewy center. The flavor of these cookies is exceptional, and because this recipe uses all brown sugar (no white sugar), the cookies have a rich flavor profile.

I love coconut, so I have a ton of recipes using the fruit. Here are some of my favorites: Coconut Macaroons, Coconut Thumbprint Cookies, Air Fryer Coconut Shrimp, Toasted Coconut Icebox Cake, and Coconut Sorbet.

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Cupboard ingredients

This easy to make cookie recipe uses ingredients that I almost always have in the pantry, so it’s easy to whip up a batch on a moment’s notice.

I originally made these cookies in 2010. I posted them here on the blog, but I also published them in my cookbook, Cupboard Cooking. They definitely needed a facelift, and some better user experience, so I’ve updated everything, photos, recipe, information, the whole shebang!

This oatmeal coconut cookie has been in my recipe box for many years, and I think it’s a delicious cookie that’s always reliable. It’s not too sweet, not too fancy, it’s just a great cookie with wonderful flavor that people of all ages will love. It’s a recipe you’ll want in your cookie recipe box as well!

How to make these cookies

The dough is really easy to make, as there isn’t much mixing involved, and the melted butter makes them come together in a snap.

Mix up the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix the wet ingredients.

A note on the coconut: I usually use sweetened shredded coconut in these. Unsweetened will work as well, but the final cookie won’t be as sweet. So, I do recommend sweetened, but feel free to use either if you only have one in the house.

Mix the wet ingredients into the dry. I’d like to note that I do all the mixing of these cookies by hand – just with a sturdy fork. Then scoop into balls. Place on a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper.

To flatten or not to flatten

I’ve had some people say that these cookies didn’t flatten out when they baked them. I’ve made these many times and never had to flatten them by hand. This time when I made them, I did a little testing where I flattened some, and didn’t flatten others. The ones that I left as balls and baked up, had a nice crispy edge, a flat body, and a lacy looking exterior. Where the ones I flattened before hand looked more like regular oatmeal cookies without that lacy exterior.

I’ve made these in a convection oven, in a regular oven, and in a toaster oven, and they always flatten. I always mix them by hand.

They all flatten for me after I take them out of the oven, leave them to rest on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes, and then remove them from the baking sheet and place them directly on the cooling rack to cool completely. It’s like they deflate after being taken out of the oven.

If you’re still worried about them flattening, feel free to flatten them with the palm of your hand, or with the back of a spoon. They won’t get those pretty lacy edges, but they are still super tasty!

You can check out the tried its’ on Pinterest.

Can these oatmeal cookies be made ahead?

Absolutely these cookies can be prepared in advance! These are a great make ahead cookie!

You can make the dough and keep it in the fridge for a couple days until you’re ready to bake it.

You can also make the dough, portion out the dough balls, and freeze them for longer storage. After they are frozen, place them in a plastic bag for storage in the freezer. I like to take a few out of the freezer at a time and bake up small batches so I have fresh hot cookies anytime I want some.

You can also bake up the cookies and keep them in the freezer. Just take them out the day before you want to eat them and let them defrost on the counter or in the fridge. To freeze the cookies, place the cookies on a cooling rack, and allow them to cool completely, them place the cooking rack with the cookies in the freezer. Then you can wrap them individually when frozen. That helps the cookies not stick together when frozen.

How do I store these cookies?

I just keep them in an airtight container on the counter for a few days until they’re all gone. You can also put them in the fridge or freezer for longer storage. Be sure to keep them in an airtight container. I do find that they lose some of the crispness and get a little more chewy the longer they sit. But that change doesn’t bother me, in fact, they are still quite good!

Toaster oven

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I’m a big fan of the toaster oven or counter top oven to bake up some of these healthy cookies in a small batch. It doesn’t take much energy and it doesn’t heat up the house.

These come out great from the toaster oven; just keep an eye on them, as they can burn easily.

Can I make these vegan?

I’ve been thinking about making these with plant-based ingredients, making them vegan, and I need to do some testing.

You can easily substitute the honey with maple syrup, molasses, or date syrup.

As for the butter, I find that coconut oil works well for a butter sub for most recipes. Now, in these cookies butter is the main ingredient, so I’m not sure it will work as expected. Like I said, I need to test that. Vegan butter may also work, but I haven’t tried it yet. If you try these, let me know how it goes.

Can these be gluten free?

Yes, a simple substitution of gluten free baking mix for the all-purpose flour, and these can be gluten free.

To be on the safe side, use oats that are certified gluten-free. Oatmeal is gluten-free but is often processed in factories that process grains containing gluten.

Do you know them by another name?

I have heard some people refer to these as Anzac biscuits.

Personally, being from the states, I’m not familiar with these biscuits, and we tend to call them cookies whereas people from the other side of the pond call them biscuits.

I did a bit of research and found that the Anzac biscuit is a sweet biscuit, popular in Australia and New Zealand, made using rolled oats, flour, sugar, butter, golden syrup, baking soda, boiling water, and desiccated coconut.

So, yes these are very similar. When I looked online at pictures, it seems to me that the Anzac biscuit is thicker and possibly dryer, but that could just be the way they look in pictures.

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Coconut Oat Cookies Recipe