When Life Gives You Green Coconut

You make strange-colored ranger cookies! Surely you've heard that expression before.

Last week, my son had his birthday. I was in denial for awhile, but I can finally admit now that he is five years old! When I first had him, I got a little tired of hearing everyone tell me how quickly time will fly. But now I know it's true! He's going to be driving in a week or something. Someone make him stop growing. But I digress.

The past three years, Landon has wanted some sort of truck themed party, with a 3D cake to match. So I've made a dump truck, fire engine, and ambulance. Every year on the night before the party, I'm frosting my butt off, muttering to myself "why the heck did I decide to do this again?!" So this year, when he told me he wanted a Dallas SWAT party with an A.P.C. cake, I almost cried. Why, you ask? Because this is an A.P.C.

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So, needless to say, I urged him to go in a different direction. A completely different direction. A direction that involved a cake in the shape of a rectangle. So a bug party it was! Chocolate frosting, green-tinted coconut "grass" and plastic bugs? Easy, and still super fun for him. 

I ended up buying a big bag of flaked coconut and dying it green, then only using a tiny amount on the cake. No one in my family is a big fan of coconut, but I didn't want to waste the majority of the bag, so I decided to make ranger cookies! I've seen then in grocery stores, and always thought they were just showing team spirit for the Texas Rangers, but apparently this cookie has been around for longer than I have. I'm just out of the cookie loop I guess. I decided to give them a try, and we ended up loving them. So give them a try (green coconut optional!).

This is not my picture - the green coconut made then really weird looking! So here's the normal-looking version!

Ranger Cookies

via Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 2 cups crisp rice cereal
• 1 cup flaked coconut
• 1 cup white chocolate chips (optional and not originally in the recipe, but so good!)

Directions

• In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the oats, cereal and coconut.
• Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls 2 in. apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks. Yield: 7-1/2 dozen.