I have always loved coconut, I love the things made out of it like Pina Colada, Thai food and coconut curries. In baking, it adds both flavor and texture however the end result can be dry when using desiccated coconut so when making coconut cake, often it is combined with yogurt or sour cream. I also made coconut tarts which are delectable and my best friend’s favorite too. Recently I have learnt recipe of Basbousa which is a middle eastern coconut cake with a twist (and sometimes semolina aka suji is also added) from my neighbor. I will be posting it sometime next week.
The entire prelude was to state that I made coconut cookies and they turned out awesome. I got some nice compliments for this. I think I will be settling down with this recipe of coconut cookies, atleast for a while. The recipe has been taken from Martha Stewart site and as they describe it, they are a cross between butter cookies and coconut macaroon, exactly what I was looking for. I love what salt does to these cookies and its background hint makes you wonder, whats that.
Coconut Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Ingredients:
Shredded/Desiccated Coconut approx. 5 cups
Sugar 1 cup
Salt 1/2 tsp
Baking powder 1/4 tsp
Butter 1/2 cup chilled and cut into cubes
Egg 1
Vanilla essence 1 tsp
Flour 1 1/2 cup
Method:
1. Set aside 2 cups loosely packed coconut on a plate.
2. Place rest of the coconut, salt, sugar and baking powder in a food processor and process until finely grounded.
3. Add butter and process until no lumps remain.
4. Add egg and vanilla and process just until smooth.
5. Add flour, pulse until a crumbly dough begins to form scraping the sides but don’t over-mix.
6. If you are making by hand, or don’t have food processor, grind the ingredients in step 2 in a grinder. Add butter and rub with fingers until mixed. Add egg and vanilla and mix well with a wooden spoon. Add in flour and combine to form a dough with hands. Don’t knead.
7. Using a scoop or table spoon, form equal balls and roll them into reserved coconut.
8. Arrange balls on lightly greased baking sheet at well placed distance. I used parchment lined baking sheet.
9. Bake in a pre-heated oven at gas mark 5 for about 25 minutes until light golden in color.
10. Cool on baking sheet for 2 minutes before transferring to wire racks and cool completely.
they look awesome 🙂 i shall try someday ..but right now i need ur help with something else….umm im trying to make fondant!! the rolled marshmallow one….but well its quiet tricky(i used the recipe from wilton)…cant get the right texture..can u plz help me on that!
i posted comment on your blog, please check
Crunchy and mouthwatering coconut cookies…
wow che belli!! mmmm…
Hi Nadia,
It sounds like you’re shoot with a digital SLR? If so, you likely need to white balance for this shot. If you’ve never done it before, find white balance in your manual, shoot a piece of white paper once, select that as your white balance for these pictures. Then go ahead and shoot. This will hopefully clear it all up.
I hope this helps, and I’m so happy you liked the cake!
Laura
Oh and these pictures are beautiful! They make me want to make cookies.
Thanks everyone, and special thanks to Laura, i will try to figure out white balance, thanks again
These were delicious! I used a bit over half of the coconut required but they turned out well just the same – not too sweet, just salty enough and very coconut-y.
i am glad ayesha, yes the amount of coconut may vary slightly
Were these cookies made with fresh coconut? Would it make a difference??
fresh or not, both will do, actually i didnt use fresh