Crispy Coconut Cookies
Awhile ago, my friend Gail sent me a message on Facebook. She asked me if I had a recipe for coconut cookies. She loves the flavor of coconut and really wanted to try one. I told her that I didn’t have a recipe, but that I was up to the challenge of writing one. I had read somewhere that you could substitute coconut for oatmeal in things, so I figured I would try taking an oatmeal cookie recipe and sub out the oats for coconut. As it turns out, it wasn’t that simple, coconut does not absorb as much liquid and fat as oats do and so there were definite adjustments that had to be made. In addition, Gail messaged me back to tell me that she likes a crispy cookie. Well this just through all my plans out the window as I didn’t have any crispy oatmeal cookie recipes. Not wanting to be defeated, I started doing some research and 10 test-batches of cookies later, this was the final product. I have to say that this recipe is something that I am extremely proud of.
As with most cookie recipes you must start by mixing together your dry and wet ingredients separately. The dry ingredients for this recipe are unique in that I use both baking powder and baking soda. The combination of both of these leaveners will ensure that the cookies are crispy/chewy and not crispy/crunchy. In addition, they’ll help the cookies to brown slightly (and as we should all know by now, brown food tastes good). I mentioned that coconut doesn’t absorb as much fat and liquid as oats do. So in the process of “frankensteining” several oatmeal cookie recipes together along with converting the oatmeal to coconut, I had to cut out quite a bit of fat, leaving me with just a stick and half of butter. I also made sure to use both brown and white sugar because that brown sugar adds good depth of flavor.
When I made these cookies straight up with just vanilla flavoring and coconut, I felt that they came out very one-note and bland. They didn’t really taste of anything. I decided therefore to amp up the flavor by adding coconut extract. Using just the teaspoon in the recipe ensures that your cookies will taste like they were naturally coconut flavored instead of doused in a coconut-scented perfume bottle. To combat the one-noteness I had to think what flavors tend to go well with coconut. My mind instantly flew to Harry Nilsson’s song “Put the Lime in the Coconut” and thus I decided to add lime zest, to great success.
The bulk of the texture from this recipe comes from shredded unsweetened coconut. Please make sure you find the unsweetened variety. Adding sweetened coconut to this will truly throw off all of the flavors and will make the cookies spread more than they should. I also always make sure to just stir by hand at this stage. I always strive to never overmix my cookie doughs to prevent them from being tough, because contrary to the saying I do not enjoy a tough cookie.
Only six cookies should be placed on a sheet pan and the cookies should be pressed. You want them to spread to a nice thin cookie to ensure they will be crispy. You also don’t want to overcrowd the cookies on the pan or they’ll run into each other. I tried doing eight cookies on a pan in one of my test batches and it did not turn out well for me or the cookies. My last tip is to make sure you leave the cookies to cool on the pan for at least a minute before you remove them. This, again, ensures crispiness and makes sure your cookies don’t fall apart on you as soon as you try to move them.
I couldn’t be more proud of how these cookies turned out. To make things even better, I made a batch for my friend Gail and she loves them as well! I know that they will be a winner for you and your friends as well. Side note, I know these cookies have more of a summer vibe to them, and I’m releasing this recipe in December. However, who says you can’t bring a little summer into your winter months? So whip yourself up a mai tai, make a batch of these cookies and relax with a good book next to the fireplace. You deserve it!
Remember you don’t have to be a professional chef to make magic in your kitchen.
Joe the Blue Wizard
Crispy Coconut Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Cups (180 g) Flour
- 3/4 Tsp (4 g) Baking Powder
- 1/2 Tsp (3 g) Baking Soda
- 1/2 Tsp (3 g) Salt
- 1 1/2 (165 g) Sticks Butter
- 1 Cup (200 g) Sugar
- 1/4 Cup (50 g) Light Brown Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 Tsp (5 mL) Coconut Extract
- Zest of 2 Limes
- 2 1/2 Cups (250 g) Unsweetened Shredded Coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until well incorporated.
- In a large bowl cream together butter and both sugars until light and fluffy.
- Add egg, coconut extract and lime zest to the wet ingredients and beat to combine.
- Add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat until just combined.
- By hand, stir in the coconut until well incorporated.
- Roll dough into 1 inch (2.5 cm) balls.
- Space cookies out on cookie sheets, 6 to a pan.
- Press down dough balls until they are roughly 3/4 inch (1 cm) in thickness.
- Bake 2 pans at a time (12 cookies) on the upper middle and lower middle racks of the oven for 13-15 minutes. Cookies should be browned around the edges.
- Allow to cool on the pans for 1 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Bake off remaining cookies in the same manner.
