Grandma’s Oatmeal Coconut Lace Cookies
This is my Grandma’s recipe for oatmeal cookies. Now, you might call these lace oatmeal cookies, or crispy oatmeal cookies or maybe something completely different but my Grandma only called them oatmeal cookies. A simple name for a simple recipe. I, however, call them amazing, addictive and with the addition of coconut, Grandma’s Oatmeal Coconut Lace Cookies.
My Grandma made these all the time, in fact, you would find a blue Christmas tin, you know the one, full of them, almost any time you stopped by to visit. If it wasn’t oatmeal cookies then it was these soft gingersnaps. I don’t remember her making any other cookie, I’m sure she did. My grandma and grandpa always finished their main meal of the day with dessert. So, I’m sure she had a full arsenal but she was truly known for soft gingersnaps, these oatmeal cookies, and the one time she tried to pass off a Ritz cracker pie as apple. Always a fun time.
These cookies are probably my favourite version of any oatmeal cookie. I love how buttery and crisp they are, and thats a tall testament because I’m always team soft cookie, but these have found a home at the top of my list of favourites. Not only my list, but my husbands as well.
When I made these cookies, I didn’t follow the instructions properly and I really wanted big cookies to save for another use. Well, they spread, as in, covered the whole cookie sheet, end to end. Still delicious, just no longer round. And then one batch ended up darker than I wanted, as I had my hands full with tiny humans. Such is life, and this meant the family got the ugly batch to snack on. Two pans worth, no one complained.
The first night, my husband came to bed and said he’d eaten a lot, ok, no problem. The second night he finished off the rest of them and offered to take the good ones off my hands as well. He restrained himself long enough that I was able to get some photos.
How to make Grandma’s Oatmeal Coconut Lace Cookies
When I decided these were next on the agenda for Candy Jar Chronicles, I wanted to add my own twist to these. I’m positive my Grandma had made her cookies with coconut before, but couldn’t find a recipe of hers that included bout. So, I subbed in some coconut in replace of the oatmeal. Adding the coconut just adds another little snap to these cookies. So, so good.
To make these crisp little, cookies you’ll want to start by mixing together the oatmeal, coconut, flour, sugar and salt. Then cut in your butter in until the mixture is crumbly. I start a pot of boiling water right before I start and for me it’s boiling by the time I hit this step.
Once your mixture is crumbly, in a separate bow, dissolve one teaspoon of baking soda into a quarter cup of boiling water. This will bubble up, so use a medium bowl, here. Add that in and stir the dough until it starts to form form a ball. Then, roll a scoop of the dough into rounds and flatten it slightly. These will spread quite a bit, so only place a dozen cookies max on a baking sheet or less, to be safe. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.
These literally take minutes to whip together and they taste like you’ve slaved all day. They’re perfectly crisp and loaded with buttery goodness. The coconut gives the cookies an extra snap that’s irresistible. So good. What’s your Grandma’s known for in the dessert department. Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear what the favourite is in your family.
If you love Grandma’s Oatmeal Coconut Lace Cookies, check out these other delicious side dish recipes, I’m sure they’ll hit the spot:
If you get a chance to make this or any other recipe on the blog and want to share. Please feel free to tag @candyjarchronicles or use #candyjarchronicles on Instagram, so I can see your post. I’d love to see what you’re cooking in your kitchen!
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Grandma’s Oatmeal Coconut Lace Cookies
Grandma's Oatmeal Coconut Lace Cookies are perfectly buttery and crisp. A simple recipe that comes together quickly, which is good, because these are addictive and will disappear in a flash.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups oatmeal (I used rolled oats)
- 1 cup coconut (I use sweetened)
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup butter
- 1 tsp baking soda dissolved in 1/4 cup of boiling water
INSTRUCTIONS
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Fill a pot with water and set on stovetop to boil for later use.
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Mix first five ingredients together. Work in the butter until the mixture is crumbly.
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Using the boiling water, dissolve 1 tsp of baking soda. Pour the soda water over the cookie dough and mix together until a ball starts to form.
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Take small scoops of dough about the size of a walnut and roll into a ball. Space the cookies about 2" apart on a cookie sheet. Bake no more than a dozen or less on a pan at one time.
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Bake for 8-10 minutes until cookies are golden brown.
RECIPE NOTES
Grandma’s Oatmeal Coconut Lace Cookies adapted from P. Radbourne’s recipe.
11 Comments
Chris Forsythe
I only rated a 3 but I believe they will eventually become a 5. I made the recipie as per instructions and also found it very salty. (I am using salted butter… I wonder if that is the factor?) I am not great in the kitchen but had fun making these and learning. I made the balls too big so they didn’t flatten all the way leaving the middle soft and flakey. I will try this recipie again and maybe omit adding the salt. One of these days I’ll get it right! LOL! Thanks for publishing the recipie!
Jane
Turned out well, except are a little too salty( I didn’t read the comments first). I will make again, cutting down on the salt and using unsalted butter. I’m not throwing away. We will eat and drink lots of milk or water.
MarcI Hawn
I LUV these cookies!!! Thank you so much for sharing your sweet grandmothers recipes. Can’t wait to try her Gingersnap recipe next…DOUBLE-YUM! 🙂
Tanya
Hi Marci!
Thank you so much for the lovely comment. I’m so happy you you enjoyed these. My gram really was the best! 😊
Christine
My cookies didn’t spread. They stayed in a ball. The second dozen, I flattened first and they still didn’t spread.
I was wondering what the baking soda and water is supposed to do. Mine fizzed for a few seconds and then nothing. Just dissolved in the water. Could there be something wrong with that?
What I got tasted good just aren’t even close to the pictures. Any suggestions?
Tanya
Hi Christine,
Thanks for the message and for giving these a good! First, I’m glad they tasted good!! Now, as for why they didn’t spread, I’m not really a 100% sure. I’m going to test these out again over the next couple of weeks and try and troubleshoot for you. They seem to be hit or miss for some folks, and that’s not what I want for any of my recipes. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to ask my Grandma why she dissolved baking soda. I have done a bit of research and dissolving it beforehand stops the soda from rising which we don’t want for these cookies, it also enhances flavours and helps crisp the cookies in less time. My only guess is if they sat too long before baking, the dough may have firmed up and instead of spreading they held more of their shape. I will keep you posted! Cheers, Tanya
Sue
I LOVE a good lace cookie! To the person who’s cookie didn’t spread, did you use real butter? These have never worked for me with margarine, or whipped butter, etc. The spread happens because of all the butter in them (and really, who doesn’t love butter)? I’m thinking if you used a butter substitute, or margarine, it could have had a negative effect. Maybe?
Thank you Tanya for sharing your grandmothers recipe. I’ve made lace cookies before but never with the coconut – can’t wait to give these a try, I’m sure they taste as good as they look!
Tanya
Thanks for the input Sue! I hope you love these! 😊
Candace
WAYYYYY too much salt. I ended up throwing out the entire batch. They were just…blah. Also, this makes a huge batch, so if you are going to try this recipe, cut salt to 1/3 tsp.
Tanya
Thanks for your comment. I’m sorry these didn’t work out for you Candace. They’re a favourite in our house.
Bev
Made the recipe exactly as described. Mine didn’t flatter either. They taste good though.