Chewy Oatmeal Coconut Brown Sugar Cookies (Anzac Biscuits)

May. Mother's Day. And baby, it was everything.

They came. All of them — or nearly all. Denise and Robert. Kayla and Devon. Monique and James. Earl Jr. and Carolyn drove down with Amara and baby David Jr. Patricia sent flowers from Jacksonville — Wayne's health still keeps them close to home. But the Savannah Hendersons were in full force, and the house was loud and warm and smelled like fried chicken and cornbread and the particular brand of chaos that only a large Black family on a Sunday afternoon can produce.

Amara presented me with a handmade card. She is two and a half, so the card was a piece of construction paper with aggressive crayon marks and a sticker of a cat and the word "GAHGAH" written by Carolyn but signed (scribbled) by Amara herself. I will put it in the recipe box next to Kayla's card from three years ago that said "Thank you for choosing me." The recipe box is becoming the archive of love notes from the people who matter most.

Kayla gave me a framed photo — the Sapelo Island trip, me and her standing by the live oak where Pearl's house might have been. In the photo, I'm looking at the tree and Kayla's looking at me, and you can see it — you can see the thread between us, between me and the tree and Pearl and Kayla and whatever comes next. That photo is going on the wall next to Willie James and Earl. The wall of everyone who shaped the kitchen.

I didn't cook. I wanted to — Lord knows I wanted to — but Kayla and Devon insisted. They made brunch. Shrimp and grits (of course), buttermilk biscuits (passable), scrambled eggs (adequate), and a fruit salad (unnecessary but appreciated). The shrimp were overcooked by ten seconds. I said nothing. Love covers a multitude of sins, including rubbery shrimp.

Now go on and feed somebody.

Kayla called her biscuits “buttermilk.” They were chewy and a little sweet and nothing like what I would have made — and I ate two of them without a word of correction, which is the highest compliment I know how to give. If you want to make the biscuits that showed up on my Mother’s Day table — the ones made with love and confidence and a generous hand with the brown sugar — these chewy oatmeal coconut biscuits are the recipe. Let somebody make them for you if you can. If you have to make them yourself, do it anyway.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 14 minutes | Total Time: 29 minutes | Servings: 24 biscuits

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup or light corn syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 tablespoons boiling water
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the rolled oats, flour, coconut, brown sugar, and salt until evenly mixed.
Melt butter mixture. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter with the golden syrup, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat.
Activate baking soda. In a small cup, stir the baking soda into the boiling water until dissolved. Pour immediately into the butter mixture — it will foam up. Stir to combine.
Mix dough. Pour the butter mixture over the dry ingredients and stir until a cohesive, slightly sticky dough forms. Let it rest 2 minutes to firm slightly.
Portion and flatten. Roll heaping tablespoons of dough into balls and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten each ball gently with the palm of your hand to about 1/2-inch thickness.
Bake. Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 12–14 minutes, until the edges are golden and the centers look just set. They will firm as they cool — do not overbake.
Cool. Let biscuits cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They crisp at the edges and stay chewy in the center once fully cooled.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chewy Oatmeal Coconut Brown Sugar Cookies (Anzac Biscuits) — The Biscuits Kayla Made (Passable, and Perfect)