This comes from another heirloom recipe in my mom’s recipe box. She actually credits herself for this one instead of someone else, though I don’t remember her making it.

These cookies are an amalgamation of oats, coconut, and stuff holding them together into a bird’s nest-like shape. Something great about them is that there are no eggs in the recipe, so they are a decent option for anyone avoiding them.

The flavor is great, with a chewy texture that gets harder as it cools. They get their shape from baking in the bottom of a muffin tin.

The original recipe suggested using a 2-inch muffin pan to get a flatter, crispier cookie. I tried this with the final three scoops of dough, and you can see the results in the three cookies in the front of the photo below. They were crispy, all right! But then I couldn’t pry them out of the pan without breaking 2/3 of them, so I can’t recommend this method. As is, the smaller cookies are hard enough that they might break a tooth anyway.

1 1/2 c. quick-rolled oats
1/2 c. flaked coconut
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 c. flour
3/4 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
2 Tbsp. honey
dried cherries for top*

*The original recipe called for candied fruit or maraschino cherries. I felt that maraschino cherries might be too wet for this recipe and candied fruit was harder to find in May than if I had tried to make this in December. Dried cherries are delicious, though you can try one of the other options as you see fit.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oats, coconut, nuts, and flour; set aside.

In a saucepan, combine brown sugar, butter, and honey. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Pour over oat mixture, blending well.

For each cookie, press one level spoonful of the mixture into a greased 1 3/4″ muffin pan. A drinking glass will help flatten them evenly.

Top each cookie with a dried cherry.

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in pan, then remove to a rack.