Y'all know I love a good celebration, so as my birthday drew near this year, I wanted to find a special way to celebrate with you, dear friends of The LovingKind!

As I thought about how to celebrate with you in a meaningful way, I was drawn to this line from the heart of "We are The LovingKind:"

The LovingKind is about accepting, appreciating and celebrating who you are, who we are, and the life we have been given.

What a sweet thing to think about on a birthday! We have all been given precious life and with each year, it is something worth celebrating! So, for my birthday this year, the final of my 20's, I want to share with you a little piece of who I am through a cookie recipe.

I love to bake, and cookies are my favorite treat to create. What I'm sharing with you today is more than just a delicious cookie, but it carries with it a little piece of my history. I once was told that one of the best gifts to give someone you love is something that means a lot to you. In that spirit, I share with you my very favorite family cookie recipe, Aunt Ruth's Yummy Cookies!

Handwritten recipe from my mom. Photo by Rachel Coffey Photography

You may think I'm about to tell you about my dear, Aunt Ruth, but you see, I don't actually know Aunt Ruth at all! She was the aunt of one of my mom's good friends who shared this namesake cookie recipe with our family years ago. These cookies are special to me for another reason.

My mom has made these yummy cookies many times over the years, and she happened to whip up a batch August 20, 1985, the day before I was born. Later that day, after the cookies had safely made it out of the oven, she went into labor and brought me into the world just barely after midnight on August 21.

With their first baby having arrived, my parents were consumed with all the newborn activity, leaving everything else behind, cookies included. Until, my dad returned home to rest while my mom and I rested at the hospital. He saw the cookies, told himself he had just had a daughter and deserved to celebrate, and he began eating.

He ate so many cookies (my mom guesses probably three dozen!), he had to stop—not because his stomach was full, but because his jaw was actually fatigued! I've heard him tell this story many times and relate the feeling to lifting weights and reaching the point where your muscles simply cannot lift another pound. He said that is how his jaw muscles felt, and he physically could not take one more bite! It's fantastic and hilarious, and not at all surprising knowing my dad's sweet tooth!

I love this story because it makes me laugh, it makes me think of my mom and dad as young parents, and it makes me grateful for family. These cookies have been a family favorite literally since the day I was born, and every time I bake them, I think about this funny moment from my beginning and smile. They will always be my birthday cookies.

I hope you will take this recipe into your own home, and that the yummy cookies will accompany your family for many great moments, big and small, along your journey.

Here's to you! Here's to birthdays! Here's to yummy, yummy, yummy cookies!

Aunt Ruth's Yummy Cookies

Ingredients

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups oatmeal (I use rolled oats)
1 cup coconut
12 oz. bag chocolate chips (optional- I started adding chocolate chips on occasion and it's become a favorite in the Woodcock household!)