farallon's ranger cookies

2 c flour (see note)
1 t baking soda
1/4 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 c butter (2 sticks) at room temperature
1 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
2 t vanilla
2 eggs
1 c dried coconut
1/2 c pecans, chopped
2 c rolled oats
1 1/2 c rice krispies

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a small bowl, sift the flour, soda, powder, and salt together. Set it aside.

3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, and then beat in the eggs one at a time.

4. Add the flour mixture into the butter and beat until combined. Stir in the coconut, pecans, oats, and rice krispies and combine until just blended.

5. Drop heaping spoonfuls of the batter onto a cool, ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 7-9 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Makes 3-4 dozen cookies, depending on size
Original Source: Nathan Powers, head night chef at Farallon

These cookies are served as part of the nightly "family dinner" for the staff at Farallon, near Union Square. When I got to try one warm out of the oven, I knew that when these cookies are served, the "family" eats just as well as the guests!

If possible, make your cookie recipes with cake flour -- it produces less gluten than all-purpose flour and bread flour. While gluten is good for developing the holey structure in a loaf of rustic ciabatta, you don't want those holes in your cakes and cookies.

When making several batches of cookies with only one or two cookie sheets, be sure to rinse off the pans with water between batches. Using a hot cookie sheet for later batches will lead to inconsistent cooking times, and potentially leave you with burnt cookie bottoms.