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*Thank you Bob's Red Mill for sponsoring today's post so that I can share this recipe for chewy coconut cookies with all of you. As always, all opinions are mine.*
Halloween is over and it's time to start off your holiday baking with these CHEWY coconut cookies.
I lost my family recipe for these cookies about 3 years ago and for some reason, no one in my family seems to have the correct recipe because they were not turning out the way I remembered.
I was on a mission now... I decided to start testing with different ingredients week after week.
After numerous unsuccessful batches, I finally made the PERFECT coconut cookies!
These cookies are SOFT and CHEWY with a CRISPY, CRUNCHY sugar coating.
I filled them with caramel and each bite is just HEAVENLY.
Now, these are not coconut flour cookies or vegan eggless healthy coconut cookies, which seems to be fairly popular (not exactly sure why?!)
They are far better tasting!
These coconut cookies are:
- Easy to make
- Require simple ingredients from your pantry
- Perfect for a cookie exchange (Makes over 2 dozen cookies)
- Easy to modify to make different flavors
- Easy to package and ship to family and friends as a homemade gift
Here are some TIPS for making coconut cookies:
- Make sure butter and eggs are at ROOM TEMPERATURE because they blend together better this way.
- Your recipe is only as good as the ingredients you use. So, use the best quality of ingredients you can find.
- Don't omit coconut extract since it really enhances the coconut flavor.
- Don't omit rolling cookie dough balls in sugar because that gives these cookies a sugary crispy crunch.
- Use UNSWEETENED coconut since the sweetened one makes the cookies very sweet.
- Use UNSALTED butter since salted butter makes cookies very salty.
- The cookie dough will be thick and that's perfectly normal.
- You can make these cookies without the caramel filling and they will still taste incredible.
- Cookies taste best when served FRESH because the caramel in the center is so ooey gooey.
- Reheat older cookies in the microwave for about 15 seconds to make the caramel center soft again.
Here are some FLAVOR variations you can try with this easy cookie recipe:
- Use toasted coconut to make toasted coconut cookies (I am a little impatient and don't do this!).
- To make cranberry coconut cookies, add ¾ cup dried cranberries into the batter.
- To make coconut candy cane cookies, dip half of each cookie in melted chocolate and before it has a chance to set, sprinkle crushed candy canes.
- To make orange, lemon or lime coconut cookies, add 1 tablespoon orange, lemon or lime zest and relevant extracts to give these cookies a citrus flavor.
- To make coconut cookies with chocolate drizzle, allow the cookies to cool down and the drizzle your choice of melted chocolate on top of each cookie.
- To make coconut almond cookies, add ½ cup roughly chopped nuts into the batter.
- To make coconut cookies with chocolate chips or coconut chocolate cookies, add ¾ cups chocolate chips or chocolate chunks (your choice of milk, semisweet, dark or white)
- To make coconut oatmeal cookies, reduce flour to 2 ½ cups and add ¼ cup quick cooking oats.
I used Bob's Red Mill Organic All-Purpose Baking Flour to make these cookies.
I have used their Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour as well and it should work just as well for this recipe.
Their products are HIGH QUALITY and always deliver good results.
I really think that baking is such a wonderful way to express your LOVE for family and friends.
It's THOUGHTFUL and personal and brings a smile to people's faces!
Even if it's not the holiday season, the gift of freshly baked cookies can provide a "pick me up" for someone who is going through a tough time.
It's truly the little acts of KINDNESS that truly matter... Don't you agree?
How to make coconut cookies from scratch?
The process is very SIMPLE. Start off by creaming together butter and sugar. Mix in egg, milk, vanilla extract, coconut extract until smooth. Add flour, shredded coconut, baking powder, baking soda and mix until just combined. Scoop out small portions of the dough and place a caramel in the center and roll into a ball. Toss these cookie dough balls in a bowl of granulated sugar. Place them on a cookie tray, lined with parchment paper. Chill for 20 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Enjoy!
Well, that's all for today.
If you liked this crispy coconut cookies, you may like some of these other cookie recipes too:
Classic No Bake Cookies Recipe
Also, here are some other coconut recipes you might enjoy:
Recipe
Chewy Coconut Cookies Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter Unsalted, Room temperature
- 1 ½ cups Granulated sugar
- 1 Egg Large
- 3 tablespoon Milk Whole
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Coconut extract
- 2 ¾ cups All-purpose flour
- ½ cup Shredded coconut Unsweetened
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking soda
- ½ cup Granulated sugar For rolling cookie dough balls
- 30 Caramel candies Small, Square ones
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
- Add egg, milk, vanilla extract, coconut extract and mix until smooth.
- Add flour, shredded coconut, baking powder, baking soda and mix until just combined.
- Scoop out small portions of the dough and place a caramel in the center and form it into a dough ball.
- Roll these dough balls in a bowl of granulated sugar.
- Place them on a cookie tray, lined with parchment paper.
- Chill the trays in the freezer for 20 minutes.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown along the edges. Enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a cookie jar at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Jen
I am so adding these to my cookie exchange list! Loving all of your tips too, thank you!
Kimberly
That oozing caramel looks fabulous!
Amanda
These flavors are amazing, and so perfect for the holidays!
Abeer Rizvi
Absolutely. These cookies are perfect for Christmas time.
Erin Dee
These are definitely going on my holiday baking list! They look so tasty!
Abeer Rizvi
Yay! Happy to hear that!
BingBong0w
What if I don't have caramel or a center will it be just as good?
Abeer Rizvi
Absolutely. Just omit the caramel altogether.
Amy
I love the middle of these! YUM!
Abeer Rizvi
That filling really takes these cookies over the top!
Dee
My favorite brand of flour, and I love how good these cookies look!
Abeer Rizvi
It's an amazing brand! I hope you try these cookies soon.
Krista
These center of these!!! They are perfect!
Mariya
Made it today. It's delicious! Made it with chocolate filing too, came out great. The dough is so easy to work with.
Abeer Rizvi
That's so good to hear! I love that I can play around with fillings in this recipe...
Mariya
Made it again. Didn't have enough butter so i substitute with some coconut oil. Came out perfect. The whole family love them! They became our new favorite cookies !
Abeer Rizvi
Oh! Using coconut oil is a brilliant idea! Can't wait to try that myself now.
Jessica
I have no Baking Powder, but I do have Cream of Tartar. Can I use that? Would it give it a similar texture to Snickerdoodles??
Abeer Rizvi
I haven't used cream of tartar in this recipe to know how it would affect the texture. I do have a snickerdoodle recipe with cream of tartar here: https://cakewhiz.com/classic-snickerdoodles-recipe/
Gretchen
I make the lime version ( zest and juice) every year for Christmas and it’s a hit. Great to have some tropical flavors in the winter in the frozen north. Great recipe and love all the variations, though I’ve only ever made the one.