Mennonite Coconut Cookies

  I don't have a cookie in the house but I made a note on next week's grocery list. That didn't help me one bit today so I pulled out Mom's 1950's-era cookbook and started looking through the recipes. Many that I'd like to try I didn't have the ingredients for.

 But these Coconut Cookies I did.

 Even so I only had half the needed coconut so I cut the recipe in half. It made just 17 cookies, hardly enough for Tom and I but it'll take the edge off till we get to the store (or until I make something else).

 These cookies aren't macaroons - not even close - and that's what I think of when I think of coconut. The flavor is very muted (but my coconut has been in the freezer for months and that's likely the reason. Even so, the delicate taste is just what I was looking for today. I could have made chocolate chip cookies but I wanted something lighter.

Coconut Cookies

1 cup margarine
2 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tablespoons water
2 cups shredded coconut
1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla

 I melted the margarine in the microwave and added everything except the coconut and flour. I mixed this very well.

 Then I added the coconut into the liquid and let it absorb the moisture for a few minutes.

 Finally I added the flour.

 Bake at 350° for 10 to 12 minutes (mine took about 13 minutes).  Makes 3-1/2 to 4 dozen.

 It's a super easy recipe and one I'll return to. Apparently Mom never made this one. When she made a recipe she often left notes about modifications and also dated when she tried it. This recipe was blank.

Later:

 Tom suggested that these would be good with the addition of chocolate chips. So yesterday he brought home a bag of shredded coconut and I knew I had several bags of chocolate chips (10 ounce size)/ So I made a full recipe today.

 I used a small ice cream scoop to portion out the dough (that' what I always do). The full recipe made just 33 cookies, clearly quite a bit larger than the recipe calls for. I adjusted the bake time up to 15 minutes. That leaves them soft and chewy.

 I like them both ways but both Bob and Tom seemed to think them "too plain". I don't always want the extra richness of chocolate. But the cookies work well this way and I'm sure most people would prefer the addition of chocolate chips.