By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 40 to 50 minutes
- Rating
- 4(336)
- Notes
- Read community notes
I toasted the rolled oats called for in Ms. Fields's recipe, just to get a little more texture out of them. Make sure the mixture is hot when you drop the cookies or the texture will be too crumbly.
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Ingredients
Yield:2½ to 3 dozen cookies
- 1⅓cups plus 1 tablespoon rolled oats/160 grams
- 1cup sugar/219 grams
- 2ounces unsalted butter/56 grams
- ¼cup dark cocoa powder/28 grams
- ¼cup evaporated milk/60 grams
- Pinch salt/1 gram
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract/5 grams
- ½cup finely grated coconut/41 grams
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (33 servings)
57 calories; 2 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 9 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 7 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread rolled oats on a baking sheet and toast for 20 to 30 minutes, until slightly darker and toasty smelling. Remove from heat.
Step
2
Line baking sheets or your work surface with parchment or wax paper. In a heavy saucepan, combine sugar, butter, cocoa powder, evaporated milk and salt and bring to a boil, stirring. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract, oats and coconut.
Step
3
Immediately drop the warm mixture by scant tablespoons onto parchment or wax paper. Allow to cool and store in a tin.
Ratings
4
out of 5
336
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Cooking Notes
EMK
Note! If you're making these for someone who is gluten-free for medical reasons (eg celiac disease) it's critical to purchase oats that are labeled gluten-free.
Oats that are not labeled GF are very frequently contaminated with traces of gluten-containing grains in processing, and these traces are enough to trigger an adverse reaction in someone with celiac / severe intolerance.
David Look
From Martha: It should be unsweetened dessicated coconut; not freshly grated. It’s available in whole foods stores and online. Not hard to find. But don’t use the sweetened coconut from supermarket baking aisles.
Tom
Evaporated milk is ordinary milk that has been reduced to 40% of its original volume (60% of its water has been removed by heating it).
Simmer, stirring often, 2 and 1/4 cups of milk until 1 cup of evaporated milk is left.
Cut that in half, simmering 1 cup plus 1 oz until you have a half cup of evaporated. Use the rest on another batch or in cereal. (It might be difficult to simmer a smaller quantity of milk without scorching it.)
Evaporated seems sweet, maybe add a pinch of sugar?
Dan T
Is the coconut here the typical sweetened coconut used for baking, or should dessicated or freshly-grated coconut be used? It is not clear from context.
andrea
I made them one time as written and then, having run out of oats, toasted a variety of nuts (slivered almonds, pecans, cashews, hazelnuts and walnuts) and used these instead of the oats. You need to move quickly to drop them while they're hot, so they'll hold together, but they were great!
Karen M
I have the same question.
Martha, please respond.
Allison
So much better than the old butterscotch (ahem, “food-like product”) variety. I went a little off reservation with the add-ins, using some peanuts and chow mein noodles along with the coconut and oats (keeping total volume the same) and they are luscious. Will 10/10 use this recipe as my standard.
alacarte
Delicious! Didn't have coconut so made without, also cut sugar in half and "evaporated" some plant milk by boiling it down. Recipe created 20 cookies using a tablespoon. I am a bit baffled as to how one could get 3 dozen, although perhaps the coconut adds a bit more volume.
alacarte
Made these again using coconut milk instead of evaporated milk, 1/2 tsp coffee extract along with 1/2 tsp vanilla. Lots of possibilities here!
Danny
Followed the recipe to a tee. Came out perfect. Absolutely delicious and super easy and quick. They also looked fairly decent. An one cream scooped spoon really helps.
Randy
Most will be mortified, but this works beautifully using canned shoestring potatoes instead of oats. And if you want to get really Midwest festive sprinkle a few Red Hots on top while they're still warm.
KtSaurus
Priceless cookies. Although mine were far less attractive than the pic, they were eagerly devoured.
Stephanie
My can of evaporated milk from the back of the pantry expired in December 2020, so I used skim milk instead. The cookies hold together just fine this way!
Martha
I also think these are too sweet. I would make them again with half the sugar and maybe add some nuts.
Suzanne H
Anyone tried to make these dairy-free?
Scot
I used 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk (all I had) and 1/2 cup sugar -- a mixture of white and dark brown. Came out wonderfully. Though -- I used a tablespoon cookie scoop and only got 16 cookies from this recipe.
Lakeshore Cindy
So delicious & addictive they should be illegal! I used 1/2 & 1/2 instead of evaporated milk; I think heavy cream could also be substituted. My sugar didn't completely dissolve, but boy, were they delicious!
Candice
These taste much better after being refrigerated. I wasn't thrilled with them warm or at room temp. They are great cold, however.
Mary Andrews
The process of heating the evaporated milk in the cans imparts a slightly sweet flavor to the milk, and it's also just a bit darker in color than ordinary milk. Note that evaporated milk is not the same thing as condensed milk. Condensed milk is also reduced by 60 percent, but it is heavily sweetened and usually used in baking and desserts. There is no sugar added
jen8
Way too sweet. Even w 3/4 cup of sugar.
Bob
It seems like the oats need longer to toast. I did mine for 25 minutes and the cookies tasted a bit raw. Anybody else have that experience?
Jane
Question: Can these be made dairy free using culinary coconut milk? Thanks!
Martha Rose Shulman
I don't see why not. Give it a try.
Angela
How did it work with coconut milk?I wonder if you could just use 1/2 & 1/2 or whipping cream instead of evaporated milk.
Susanne Leslie
I just use water and a bit extra vanilla and butter.
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