My brother Cody and sister KT were born when I was a teenager. They are my half-siblings, which is one of the reasons why there’s such an age gap between us. My brother Cody was the first to come along. It was strange and exciting, to be a teenager and suddenly have a baby in the house. I spent a lot of time with Cody in those early years; I was sort of like his built-in babysitter. Not long after he was born, he was given all kinds of nicknames… “Code-man,” “The Codester,” “Mr. Code,” etc. etc. I called him Coco.
Cody and KT. Stinking cute, aren’t they?
When Cody began to talk, his toddler mind somehow determined that Coco must be my name because he heard the word with such frequently. So, he called me Coco. For years and years, Coco was my name. The whole family started calling me Coco, including my little sister KT. It became a “thing.”
Me and the Code-Man
The best Coco story happened when I was 16 years old. I was cast as the Queen of Hearts in a local production of Alice in Wonderland. As soon as I walked onstage, Cody, then 3 or 4 years old, pointed to me and shouted, “Coco! Coco!” He waved and yelled and wouldn’t stop yelling. “Coco! I’m here! Coco, see me? Coco!!” I’m pretty sure I broke character. It was adorable.
Cody and KT– Cody is on his way to a T-ball game, KT to a dance recital.
Cody and KT are all grown up now, but they still call me Coco from time to time. And Cody still asks me to make him Coco Cookies, the treats I used to bake for them when they were little. These chocolate chip cookies are soft, melty, buttery, and ultra chocolatey. I first found the recipe in our family cooking binder; I’m not exactly sure where it came from. The original name of the recipe was “Cowboy Cookies,” but I made them so often that they were renamed “Coco Cookies” by the fam. Over time, I learned how to make them by heart. I usually make them classic-style, with milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips, but I’ve been known to substitute raisins or add walnuts on occasion. Splurge on the chocolate and get a good quality brand (I like Ghiradelli). I don’t recommend subbing margarine… they are much better as dairy cookies. The added oats give them a wonderful texture. They are my absolute favorite chocolate chip cookies (my regular readers know I don’t say that lightly!). Dip them in an ice cold glass of milk and get happy. They’re the ultimate anti-depressant.
I’m sharing these Coco Cookies today because it’s been a very long week. I think we all deserve a treat. Don’t you?
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Coco Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups quick oats
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
- Nonstick cooking spray or butter to grease the baking sheets
NOTES
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together till light and creamy.
- Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
- Use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir in the sifted flour mixture, then stir in the oats and chocolate chips till just combined. Do not overmix.Place cookie dough into the refrigerator and let it chill for about 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease baking sheets with butter or nonstick cooking spray.Drop the chilled dough in 2 tbsp balls onto the greased cookie sheets, making sure to space them 1 1/2 - 2 inches apart so they have room to spread. I like to use a small ice cream scoop for this step-- mine holds just about 2 tbsp of dough. I put 12 cookies per standard baking sheet (3 rows of 4 cookies).
- Place the cookies in the oven and let them bake for 14-17 minutes till the edges turn golden brown. Remove from the oven. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 5 minutes. Use a spatula to remove the cookies and place them on a wire rack to cool completely. When baking sheets are cool, make a second batch.
- Serve with an ice cold glass of milk... and get happy. 🙂
Nutrition
it was wonderful
Hello,
Love your recipes!
Would regular oats work in this recipe rather than “quick cook” oats?
Thank in advance,
Kim
Glad you love the recipes! 🙂 The trouble with regular oats is that they are thicker cut, which will make for a more chewy cookie. What you can do is run the regular rolled oats in a food processor and pulse them a few times until they are finer in texture (not floury – you still want the texture of oats with some powdery in between). That should substitute well for quick cooking oats. Note that you shouldn’t try this technique with steel cut oats, they need to be at the very least rolled. Good luck!
This looks really yummy!
Love making and eating chocolate chip cookies 🙂