Coconut Cookies

If you love the tropical flavor of coconut, you will drool over these chewy, crunchy coconut cookies! Made with tasty coconut, dipped in rich chocolate, and sprinkled with even more flaked coconut, these mouthwatering, old fashioned coconut cookies are soft and tender on the inside with the perfect amount of crunch on the outside.

Jump to:

• 🌟 Why this is the best Coconut Cookies recipe
• 📝  Ingredient notes
• 👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe
• ❄️ Storage & freezing
• 🍫 Flavor Variations & Substitutions
• 🎓 Expert tips
• 🥣 Equipment notes
• ❓Recipe FAQs
• 🍪 More Cookie Recipes
• Coconut Cookies

🌟 Why this is the best Coconut Cookies recipe

1. It is easy to make - You do not need prior baking experience to create this simple recipe. All you need is one hour and to pay close attention to my detailed instructions to produce delicious, bakery-style cookies.
2. No unique ingredients or equipment are required - This recipe uses essential kitchen equipment and less than ten ingredients, most of which are household staples you likely already have in your pantry.
3. It is great for batch cooking - These coconut cookies freeze exceptionally well, so you can bake larger batches to have on hand for later.
4. It is versatile - You can easily customize these cookies to suit your unique tastes. Check out the Flavor Variations and Substitution section for a few ideas!
5. They are the most delicious - My soft coconut cookies recipe uses my classic chocolate chip cookies recipe and enhances it with shredded coconut. Unlike other coconut cookies recipes, I use high-quality ingredients and replace a large amount of the flour with unsweetened coconut, so it is not overbearingly sweet yet still light, tender, and full of coconut flavor.

📝  Ingredient notes

1. Butter - Use unsalted butter, which gives you complete control over the amount of salt in the recipe. The butter must be at room temperature to blend into the batter effectively. You can also make your butter at home!
2. Sugar - This recipe calls for regular, white granulated sugar. To learn more about the different types of sugar and how to use them in baking, read my sugar guide.
3. Egg - You will need one whole egg for the recipe. Like the butter, the egg must be at room temperature to emulsify correctly.
4. Vanilla Extract - Always use pure vanilla extract for the best taste. You can also use pure vanilla paste or one of these vanilla extract substitutes.
5. Flour - All purpose flour works best in this recipe. I do not recommend using coconut flour. You can learn more about the different types of flour and how to use them in my flour guide.
6. Coconut - The shredded coconut provides flavor and texture and will help decorate the cookies after baking. Use unsweetened coconut to keep the sugar levels the same. To enhance the flavor even more, use toasted coconut!
7. Salt - Salt is a critical ingredient that helps balance the sweetness in your coconut cookies. Do not skip it!
8. Baking Soda - Baking soda helps the cookies rise and keep them tender and chewy. If you do not have baking soda, you can try one of these baking soda substitutes.
9. Chocolate - You will need high-quality semi-sweet chocolate for the chocolate decoration. I recommend Lindt or Callebaut brand chocolate with approximately 70% cocoa content.

🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post.

👩‍🍳 How to make this recipe

1. Use an electric hand mixer to cream the room-temperature butter with the sugar for a few minutes until it becomes a light and fluffy cream.
2. Next, mix in the room-temperature egg and vanilla extract until combined.
3. Mix the dry ingredients (flour, shredded coconut, salt, and baking soda) in a separate bowl. Then, add the mixture to the wet ingredients, using a rubber spatula to help fold the ingredients together until just combined. Do not overmix!
4. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
5. Divide the cookie dough batter into eight equal portions and place them on the parchment paper. The cookies will spread as they bake, so make sure that you leave enough space between each cookie. I recommend baking four cookies on each sheet. Place the cookie sheets in the fridge to chill for an hour.
6. In the meantime, preheat oven to 175 C / 347°F. Do not use a fan.
7. Once the cookies have chilled for an hour, move them to the oven and bake for approximately 18 minutes. Since this is a lighter dough, it may not turn golden brown.
8. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them rest for a few minutes. Then, move them from the parchment paper onto a wire cooling rack to continue cooling. They will set as they cool.
9. After the cookies have cooled, melt the chocolate callets using the microwave or a double boiler. Then, dip half of each cookie into the melted chocolate. Place the dipped cookies on a sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle with a bit of shredded coconut to finish!

💡 Top Tip: The cookies will spread quite much in the oven due to the shredded coconut used in the dough instead of a larger portion of flour. While the cookies are still warm, before they have set, you can hold the cookie cutter around each cookie and make circular movements to manipulate their shape. This will tighten the cookies, making them perfectly round and perfectly thick.

❄️ Storage & freezing

As irresistible as these chewy coconut cookies are, it will be difficult not to finish the entire batch in one sitting! However, if you have leftovers, you can store them in an airtight container or sealed plastic bag at room temperature for up to five days. Or, you can store them in the refrigerator once completely cooled.

To freeze, wait until the cookies have cooled completely and then move them to a freezer-safe plastic bag or container for up to a month. Thaw at room temperature.

🍫 Flavor Variations & Substitutions

Though this recipe is delightfully delicious as written, there are many variations you can try to make different types of coconut cookies. Here are a few ideas:

With chocolate chips - If you love chocolate, stir in some white or milk chocolate chips to the batter to make chocolate chip coconut cookies. You can also try it with caramel or butterscotch chips!

With nuts - For even more crunch with a bit of protein, you can add chopped pecans, walnuts, almonds, or macadamia nuts to the batter. See my chocolate chip walnut cookie or pecan chocolate chip cookie recipes for inspiration!

With different base flavors - Instead of vanilla extract, try it with lemon or orange extract to give your coconut cookies a zesty citrus flavor. Or, for even more coconut flavor, you can use coconut extract.

With different decorations - You can use white chocolate to dip the cookies instead. Or, make a coconut glaze by combining coconut milk with powdered sugar. You can also sprinkle it with sugar or sprinkles instead of coconut or eliminate the topping altogether!

Without eggs - If you cannot use eggs due to an allergy or dietary restriction, you can use one of these many egg substitutes.

🎓 Expert tips

1. Do not attempt to reduce the sugar in the recipe, as it will affect the overall texture. The unsweetened coconut prevents it from being overly sweet.
2. Do not skip chilling the cookies; otherwise, you may have flat cookies. See my guide on how to avoid flat cookies for more tips.
3. Always preheat your oven before baking to get the best results. I recommend using a digital oven thermometer to ensure the oven has reached the correct temperature before baking.
4. For fudgy, gooey cookies, you can underbake the cookies by a couple of minutes.
5. Since these cookies will spread quite a bit due to the coconut, use a cookie cutter to help reshape them as soon as you pull them out of the oven. 

🥣 Equipment notes

Baking is a science, so always use a digital scale to measure ingredients, as they give the most accurate and consistent results. Likewise, use a digital oven thermometer to ensure the oven temperature is accurate. 

An electric hand mixer comes in handy when combining the wet ingredients. However, to avoid overmixing, only use a rubber spatula when mixing the wet and dry ingredients. A cooling rack helps cool the cookies quickly and completely.

❓Recipe FAQs

🍪 More Cookie Recipes