Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line one or two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

Miix or sift together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, beat the butter until creamy. Add the vanilla and both sugars and beat until creamy, scraping bowl occasionally. Add the egg and beat just until incorporated. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture, then add the oats, wheat germ and coconut and stir until mixed. Add the chocolate chips and nuts (if using)

The batter should be pretty thick and fairly easy to work with. Scrape it onto a big sheet of wax paper to or parchment and divide into 9 sections of about 3 ounces each. You can do this using a ¼ cup measuring cup or just a big spoon, scale and slightly dampened fingers.

Arrange 5 cookies on one sheet and 4 on the other if using two sheets. Using a fork, press into ½ inch thick rounds.

Bake one sheet at a time in the top center of oven for 18 minutes or until the cookies are appear set and spring back when touched. Let sit on the baking sheet until firm enough to lift, then transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely. Make sure they are on a rack with plenty of air circulating above and below.

When the cookies cool, they should have crunchy edges and dense but not quite hard centers. I like throwing the cookies in the freezer for a while because it makes them more solid. It's also a good place to store cookies in general.