First, I want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you who left help-a-new-mom comments this past week. I was so encouraged by your thoughts; they're making me so much more excited for when this baby shows up in November!

Now on to the food. These cookies hold a special place in my heart because they're one of the first recipes I ever created. I gotta say, I was really proud of myself, and these have been in the regular cookie rotation for awhile. They're sweet but not cavity-inducing, really fresh tasting, and they make coconut haters embrace the love, even for just once. I hope you like them.

Orange Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

• 3 c. old-fashioned oats (not instant)
• 1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2 sticks softened butter
• 2/3 c. sugar
• 2/3 c. light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• zest and juice of one orange
• 3/4 c. sweetened coconut
• 1/2 c. macadamia nuts 

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine your dry ingredients (oats, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt) in a separate bowl, and set that aside.
3. With a strong spoon (stay away from the mixer!!!!), use your muscles and combine the butter, sugars, and vanilla until smooth and combined. A mixer adds too much air resulting in messed up cookies. Trust me on this, and you can write this off as your upper body workout for the day.
4. Add the eggs and orange juice and stir until just combined.
5. Stir in the flour mixture bit by bit (just for the sake of your arms), and then add the orange zest, nuts, and coconut.
6. The dough should be thick and pale and beautiful. Now by rounding TEASPOON, drop the dough a couple of inches apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 7-10 minutes until golden brown and the center isn't wiggly.
7. Cool on a wire rack.

Here are a couple of tips for baking this cookie.

• The dough is a bit fragile which is why it's imperative to use a spoon.
• In order for the middle of the cookies to cook through, it's important that the dough balls be small. The cookies will spread a bit, but too big and they won't cook evenly.
• I use a convection oven and Air Bake cookie sheets, and the cookies are chewy and look like the picture. When I've used my regular oven, the cookies tend to spread out a lot more and look like cookie lace. They still taste great, but they're harder to get off the pan (it's all the sugars).
• Use a spatula to get the cookies off the sheet pan as soon as they come out of the oven. If you leave them, they start to stick.

I realize I'm making these sound super hard; they're not. I promise. I've just done things a few different ways, and this is the best way to get the best cookie. These are really great with coffee by the way, and adults as well as kids really like them. Enjoy!

*If you have a nut allergy, simply leave the macadamia nuts out. They won't change the cooking time or texture.