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Soft and pillowy coconut cookies with shredded coconut, toasted coconut, and coconut extract! Even if you aren’t a coconut lover, you’ll enjoy these!

coconut cookies with white frosting on teal background
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I am in love with these coconut cookies. And… I didn’t really think I liked coconut THAT much.

But I’m branching out and trying new things, especially this month (i.e. the explosion of recipes with cream cheese frosting!).

These coconut cookies are cake like (meaning pillow-y), they are moist, and have the perfect amount of coconut flavor. The coconut flavor comes from the toasted coconut, regular shredded coconut and coconut extract.

I really do think the coconut extract adds the biggest POW, but if it isn’t something you have in your pantry or want to buy, you can omit it and just rely on the toasted and regular coconut for the cookie’s flavor.

coconut cookies with white frosting in a stack on a teal background

How to Properly Measure Flour

  • Fluff the flour with a fork
  • Use a spoon to scoop the flour into your measuring cup
  • Use a butter knife to level off the flour in the measuring cup

Sticking the measuring cup straight into the bag of flour will result in too much flour to be packed into the cup, which can result in dry cookies

Total Time Required

  • 5 minutes to make the cookie dough
  • 9-12 minutes to bake the cookies
  • 15 minutes to cool the cookies
  • 5 minutes to make the frosting and frost

How To Toast Coconut

Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Place shredded sweetened coconut on a baking sheet. Bake for 7-10 minutes until it’s golden in color and toasted.

coconut cookies with white frosting on white plate on teal background

How to Store Cookies

Store these cookies in an airtight container on the counter for up to 5 days. To ensure that cookies stay soft for days, place a piece of bread in the container. The moisture from the bread will be absorbed by the cookies.

  • Portion the dough into cookie dough balls.
  • Place them on baking sheet lined with a silicone mat. You can place the dough balls close together since you won’t be baking them.
  • Place the baking sheet in the freezer until the cookies are frozen solid, about 1 hour.
  • Remove the baking sheet from the freezer and transfer the frozen cookie dough balls to a ziplock freezer bag. Label the bag with baking directions.
  • Freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months.

    To bake: remove the dough from the freezer. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF. Bake for 9-12 minutes. Frozen cookies may need to bake for 1-2 minutes longer.
coconut cookies with white frosting on white plate on teal background

Recipe tips

  • If you don’t want to toast your own coconut, I’ve seen (and bought!) toasted coconut in the baking aisle. Genius idea.
  • If you don’t have coconut extract, you and omit it, otherwise you can find it in the baking aisle near the other extracts.

More Cookies

5 from 2 ratings

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Coconut Cookies

By: Beth
Additional Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 24 cookies
Soft and pillowy coconut cookies with shredded coconut, toasted coconut, and coconut extract! Even if you aren’t a coconut lover, you’ll enjoy these!

Ingredients

Cookies

  • 1 ⅓ cups all purpose flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ½ stick unsalted butter, 1/4 cup, softened
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ tsp coconut extract
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ¼ cup toasted coconut
  • ¼ cup shredded coconut, not toasted

Frosting

  • ½ stick unsalted butter, 1/4 cup, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • additional toasted coconut to top the cookies

Instructions 

Cookies

  • Preheat the oven to 350º F. In a medium mixing bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking soda, set aside.
  • In a larger mixing bowl beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes, until fluffy. Add in the egg, coconut extract, vanilla extract, and sour cream, beat with mixer until incorporated. Gradually add the dry ingredients, then add the toasted coconut and shredded coconut, mix to combine.
  • Use a cookie scoop to drop the batter onto a silicone lined baking sheet. Bake for 9-12 minutes, or until golden on the edges. Allow the cookies to cool completely.

Frosting

  • In a small mixing bowl beat the butter for 1 minute, until fluffy. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, stir with a spatula until thick. Spread the frosting on the cookies and top with additional toasted coconut.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 82mg | Potassium: 30mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 159IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 11mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.

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About Beth

I believe that everyone should have a go-to dessert to bring to parties! With hundreds of recipes, I'll help you find yours!

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5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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3 Comments

  1. Can’t wait to try the Coconut Cookies – despite not being a massive Coconut fan :) Thanks for sharing.