Great Big Oatmeal Cookies ( That are Both Great and Big )

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups flaked coconut
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened (I used 1/2 a cup of each)
• 1 3/4 cups dark brown sugar, packed
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. 2

   Spread the coconut and oats out on a large baking sheet - two sheets work better.

3. 3

   Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned and toasted, stirring often.

4. 4

   While the coconut and oats cool, mix the flour, baking soda and salt.

5. 5

   Cream the butter and sugar together in a separate, large, bowl at medium speed for one minute.

6. 6

   Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture and beat until mixed; beat in the milk.

7. 7

   Stir in the flour, then stir in the coconut and oats.

8. 8

   I thought the dough looked pretty sticky, so at this point I put it in the refrigerator for an hour. It's not something that's called for in the original recipe, but I recommend it since it worked very well for me.

9. 9

   Drop dough in 1/4 cup amounts, 3 inches apart, onto greased baking sheets. I used an ice cream scoop for this (filled so the scoop was rounded, but not heaping), and it worked perfectly.

10. 10

    Bake for 12 minutes, or until they are set and lightly browned.

11. 11

    Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheets for one minute before transfering to a rack to finish cooling.