I am part of a family who thoroughly enjoys snacking.  That is why we needed some cookie bars up here in Durango for after finishing off all the cookies we had from Bread Bakery in Durango.  They have some incredible cookies, a delicious ham and brie sandwich and an incredible goat cheese and thyme scone that I plan to try to duplicate at some point.  So, after all the crazy delicious goodies were gone I made these cookie bars.  I found a recipe for oatmeal, coconut cookies from Allrecipes.com, and changed a few things in the dough and also made bars instead of cookies.  I was reminded by my sister after I had pressed the dough into the pan that I should have done something to compensate for the high altitude, but it was a little late for that.  So, I took my chances.  It turned out not to be an issue.  The bars did take a bit longer to bake than I would have thought.  Other than that, the flavor and texture were good.

The oats make them very hearty and substantial.  I used Girhadelli Milk Chocolate chips, which are larger than regular chocolate chips.  Any chocolate chips would be good, but the bigger chips create a bigger and more delicious bite of soft chocolate in addition to the crunchy oats and chewy coconut.

Oatmeal, Coconut, Chocolate Chip Bars

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup shredded coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; beat a little at a time into the sugar mixture until well blended. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips and coconut until evenly distributed.
3. Press into a greased large 14×17 rimmed baking sheet.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.
4. Cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan.  Cut into squares and remove squares to a cooling rack.
5. Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.