Reindeer poop

So many recipes to try so little time

I miss my drive to bake, I miss the energy I had to be in the kitchen all the time.

The kids LOVE being in the kitchen with me whether it is baking or cooking dinner they don't want to miss a minute of it.

This year I have been baking with each little one to make cookies for the cookie trays. For this, my OCD has to take a back burner which is hard for me to do. Years of baking cakes and so many other sweet treats for clients where everything had to be perfect will do that to a person.

No, I don't let the kids pick their own recipes only because they don't know enough about the millions of different cookies to make choices. For example, every time I bake with "H" she wants to make oatmeal cookies, that would make for some pretty boring cookie trays if they were only filled with oatmeal cookies.

This year I am winging the cookie trays, it will be whatever I feel like baking that day on each of them.

Thus far we have made oatmeal, oatmeal chocolate chip, what I call reindeer poop, confetti squares, and whipped shortbread.

The oatmeal, oatmeal chocolate chip, and reindeer poop all made it to the freezer. The confetti squares seem to have been eaten by our house hippos. We will be remaking those.


The oatmeal cookies are one recipe that I will never give out.

This is the recipe for the reindeer poop cookies. I LOVE these cookies and have been making them since I was about 12, it is a recipe my grandmother taught me.

Reindeer poop

What you need:

3 cups quick oats
1 cup flaked coconut (you can use sweetened or unsweetened)
2  cups white sugar
1/2  cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 milk
1/2 margarine

What to do:

1) Mix oats and coconut in a large bowl

2) In a heavy saucepan or a normal pot (I use a special heavy saucepan that is only used for baking) mix butter, cocoa, milk and margarine together. Over medium heat melt everything together. Bring to a boil and allow to cook for 2 more minutes.

3) Line a cookie sheet with parchment (I like when recipes tell me to do things like this while I am waiting for things to mix from step 1)

4) Once it has cooked for 2 minutes pour over the oats and coconut in your large bowl. Mix well.

5) By the tablespoon put scoops onto your lined cookie sheet and put in the fridge until hard. Eat right away, store in a container or freeze like what we are doing.

Let me know how yours turned!!! I would like to see pictures of your creations!