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These Coconut Cookies may sound ordinary, but they’re absolutely not. They’re soft and chewy, meaning the texture is spot-on, and the flavor is buttery and of course, they’re filled with coconut. If you’re a coconut fan, you need these cookies in your life!
Bold statement: these coconut cookies are my favorite cookies. I KNOW, what? How can I even say that? In the food world, I’m always stating that things are my “favorite”, but these cookies are my favorite. Ever since giving up chocolate, I’ve been searching for cookies that make my heart sing and that I simply can’t resist. Well friends, these cookies are those cookies!
See, they’re called coconut cookies because they have coconut in them, but they’re not overly coconut-y. They’re soft and chewy–the perfect texture–and they kind of taste like a sugar cookie with a hint of coconut, which is what a sugar cookie should actually be in my opinion.
HOW TO MAKE COCONUT COOKIES
This cookie recipe starts just like most cookie recipes: creaming the butter and sugar together. If you want to keep these as-is, use butter and brown sugar. If you want to make these vegan-friendly, use dairy free butter and cane sugar.
Next, add the egg (or flax egg) to the batter so that all the wet ingredients are combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and coconut before pouring the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mixing until everything is combined. Mix for at least 20 seconds because it may take a minute for the dough to come together. But, if the dough still seems too dry, add one tablespoon of milk and that should do the trick.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, or if you’re lazy like me, spray one with nonstick spray, then use an ice cream scooper to scoop cookie dough onto the baking sheet.
WHAT KIND OF COCONUT SHOULD I USE?
I tested these cookies multiple times–with unsweetened coconut and sweetened coconut–and found that using sweetened coconut is the way to go. Why? Because it has a more distinct coconut-y flavor, which is ultimately what we’re going for.
SHOULD I TOAST THE COCONUT?
You can if you want to! I tested these both ways and didn’t think that toasting the coconut made a huge difference. But if you love toasted coconut, go ahead and toast the coconut for a few minutes before adding it to the batter.
ARE THESE COOKIES SUPER COCONUT-Y?
It depends. If you make them with brown sugar and real butter, then yes, they’re fairly coconut-y. But, if you make the vegan version, they actually taste like sugar cookies with a hint of coconut, in my opinion. Delicious both ways, but I believe the butter and brown sugar combination brings out the coconut flavor a bit more.
CAN I MAKE THESE GLUTEN FREE?
Yes! If you want to make these gluten free, simply use gluten free all purpose flour. Other than that, I haven’t tested these with any other flours. If you do, please leave a comment and let me know how they turn out!
OTHER TASTY COOKIE RECIPES
- Buttercream Walnut Thumbprint Cookies
- Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Chickpea Cookies
Chewy Coconut Cookies
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter* softened
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar**
- 1 egg***
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Cream butter and sugar together; then add egg and vanilla and stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and coconut; then, pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and use an electric mixer to stir the batter. It may take a few seconds for it to come together, but if the dough still seems too dry, add 1 tbsp milk and that should do the trick.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then use an ice cream scooper to scoop cookie dough onto the baking sheet. Bake cookies for 12 minutes, or until the edges are set. Remove from the oven and wait 2-3 minutes before transferring cookies to a cooling rack.
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Hello Erin,
I have made those cookies today, I used brown sugar rather than light brown sugar so mine look darker than yours.
However, mine didn’t have the same texture, they didn’t crack. What possibly could be the reason?
Hi! Not 100% sure, but a few things that come to mind: first, dark vs. light brown sugar shouldn’t alter the texture, though dark brown sugar will alter the flavor a bit. For these cookies especially, I think it’s best to use an ice cream scooper to scoop the batter onto the baking sheet, which should allow the cookies to crack on their own. If for some reason they don’t, as soon as you take them out of the oven, slam the baking on the counter top a few times and that should do the trick.
This is too awesome recipe. thank you so much for share with us.