Toasted Coconut Shortbread Cookies
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Buttery shortbread is one of life's simple pleasures and these Toasted Coconut Shortbread Cookies add one more layer of flavour to this cookie classic.
Originally published Dec 2014.
Christmas baking season is in full swing again and although it has been an incredibly busy couple of months around here, I'm still managing to get a few things ready for the Christmas freezer like these simple but delicious, Toasted Coconut Shortbread Cookies.
As the many recipes for Shortbread that have appeared on Rock Recipes can attest, it is something that I've had a bit of a love affair with since I was a child.
For instance, that love was always particularly evident during the Christmas season. Every year, my mother, grandmothers and aunts would all make these completely uncomplicated but completely delicious cookies adorned simply but festively, with half a glacé cherry in the centre.
As a kid, I'd eat all the way around that cherry, saving the sweet centre for last....okay, so I still do. 🙂
Toasted Coconut Shortbread Cookies, for the coconut lovers!
Yesterday afternoon I visited my former work colleagues in the Registrar's Office at Memorial University for sort of a "private" book signing of my new cookbook. My friend Nancy who works there, helped to organize the visit so that all my old friends from the office could bring in their personal copies of the cookbook and those that they had purchased for gifts, to have them signed.
Nancy is a little coconut crazed. She loves anything with coconut so I decided to bring along some treats for the office crew and had Nancy specifically in mind when I had the idea to add toasted coconut to my simple, old fashioned shortbread cookie recipe.
They definitely got Nancy's seal of approval and satisfied all my simple but delicious shortbread criteria too.
If you're a coconut lover or a shortbread lover or both, these are bound to make a great addition to your Christmas cookie list for the freezer or to enjoy at any time of the year.
Need some more Holiday cookie inspiration?
For over 200 more tried and tested cookie recipes, visit our Cookies Pages.
You many also want to check out this great collection of No Bake Christmas Cookies that was incredibly popular during our last Holiday season.
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Buttery shortbread is one of life's simple pleasures and these Toasted Coconut Shortbread Cookies add one more layer of flavour to this cookie classic.
Ingredients
- 2 cups butter, 1 pound at room temperature
- 1 cup icing sugar, powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- ½ cup corn starch
- 3 cups flour
- 2 cups dried fine cut coconut, lightly toasted
Instructions
- Toast the coconut in a preheated 350 degree F oven and let it cool completely before using it in the recipe. Toast the coconut by spreading it in a 9x13 baking pan and baking for 10-15 minutes or so. Stir it and spread evenly again after the half way point 5-7 minutes.
- Cream together the butter and icing sugar very well until very smooth and creamy. No lumps of butter should be visible.
- Blend in the vanilla and coconut extracts.
- Sift together the flour and corn starch.
- Blend slowly into the creamed mixture until a soft dough forms.
- Blend the coconut through the dough.
- Split dough into 2 equal portions and roll each one into a log shape about 1 ½ to 2 inches in diameter.
- Wrap the dough logs in plastic wrap and chill for a couple of hours at least.
- You can freeze one of the cookie dough portions for later if you like.
- This dough will also last in the fridge for 3-4 days so that you can bake a few up at a time and enjoy them fresh from the oven if you like.
- To bake the cookies preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Using a very sharp knife, cut slices of the dough to about ¼ inch (6 mm) thickness or perhaps a tad less.
- Place the cookies on the parchment paper a half inch apart and bake for 15-20 minutes or until they just start to turn brown at the edges.
- Let cool for 10 minutes on the pan before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
- These cookies will freeze quite well for several weeks.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
48Serving Size
48 cookiesAmount Per Serving Calories 137Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 20mgSodium 71mgCarbohydrates 14gFiber 1gSugar 6gProtein 1g
The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.
Rock Recipes a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Our product recommendations are almost exclusively for those we currently use or have used in the past.
Hi Barry, I've just tried your recipe and the dough comes out very crumbly. Any advice on how to fix it? Thanks
Sounds like you are over measuring your flour. more butter would help but sift and spoon flour to measure. Never scoop.
Thank you!!
Love this shortbread recipe!! I'm going to try substituting finely grated almonds that I brought back from Portugal. ....keeping my fingers crossed that they are as good as the coconut ones!
Hi Barry,
I just purchased your Rock Recipes Cook Book.and the recipe for toasted coconut shortbread cookies lists 2 cups dried coconut lightly toasted at the start of the recipe and again at the end of the recipe.. Also it calls for 1/2 cup of cornstarch which is not listed in your online recipe. Can you please clarify the instructions.
Thank you
Sorry, that typo happened during printing; the 2 cups coconut is meant to be printed only once.
HI BARRY,
I JUST RECEIVED MY COPY OF YOUR NEW COOKIES COOKBOOK.IN HE RECIPE FOR TOASTED COCONUT SHORTBREAD COOKIES ON PAGE 212 THE RECIPE CALLS FOR 2 CUPS DRIED FINE COCONUT, LIGHTLY TOASTED AS THE FIRST INGREDIENT ON THE PAGE AND AGAIN AS THE LAST INGREDIENT. IN YOUR ONLINE RECIPE FOR THESE COOKIES IT ONLY CALLS FOR A TOTAL OF 2 CUPS OF COCONUT. PLEASE CLARIFY. THANK YOU.
Sorry, that typo happened during printing; the 2 cups coconut is meant to be printed only once.
Hi Barry,
Just a quick question... Is the coconut shredded or flaked and is it sweetenened or non sweetened? I always use sweetened and flakes. Just wondering if it makes a difference.
Thank you.
Unsweetened, medium or fine cut dried coconut.
Delicious! Great texture and despite the quantity of coconut, the coconut flavour is subtle and does not overwhelm the buttery shortbread taste. I found my coconut was toasted after 8 minutes and the cookies were baked perfectly at 13 minutes. I got 52 cookies out of this batch. I will definitely make these again.