Coconut Heart Cookies

Coconut Heart Cookies

Coconut Heart Cookies

I love coconut in its many forms-water, oil, extract, and milk and was looking for a coconut cut out cookie that would hold its shape. This recipe from Glorious Treats exceeded my expectations. I made them for Valentine's Day and adjusted the recipe by adding 1 teaspoon coconut milk (Silk) and 1/8 teaspoon coarse salt. I purchased toasted coconut but provide directions on toasting coconut if you cannot find it. Try to buy unsweetened coconut flakes to control the sugar content. The texture of this coconut cookie is chewy, full of toasted coconut and there's a robust coconut flavor in every bite. I share the recipe below.

Coconut Heart Cookies

Yield: 18-20 3 inch cookies

Coconut Heart Cookies
Ingredients
1 cups (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, softened and each stick cut into 8 cubes

1 cup Sugar

1 Extra Large Egg

1 teaspoon Coconut  Milk (Silk)

1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract

½ teaspoon Coconut Extract

2 ½ cups All Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/8 teaspoon Coarse Salt

1 cup finely chopped Toasted Coconut (I used 100% Organic Unsweetened Toasted Coconut Flakes)

Yummy and pretty Coconut Heart Cookies

Toasted Coconut Directions
Directions
Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the shredded coconut on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes. Keep an eye on the coconut. It toasts up pretty quick. Place on cooling rack to cool completely.

When cooled, add toasted coconut in food processor (I used my Ninja) until it is in small pieces.

Add to flour mixture and combine with whisk or spatula.

This is the brand I buy. 

Toasted coconut in my Ninja processor

Coconut Cookies
Directions
Cut each stick of butter into 8 pieces.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl and combine with whisk or spatula; put aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment on low to medium speed. Mix until incorporated, about 1-2 minutes.

Scrape sides of bowl with spatula and mix again for 5-10 seconds more.

Add eggs one at a time. Scrape down bowl with spatula and mix again for another 10 seconds.

Add coconut milk, coconut and vanilla extracts and mix for 1 minute.

Royal Icing in Squeeze Bottles. The black was used in another cookie project forthcoming on the blog

Decorations I used

Slowly add toasted coconut flour mixture to bowl, and mix on low speed for 1-2 minutes. When dough clumps around paddle attachment, it is ready.

Form dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and cool in fridge for 1-2 hours or overnight.

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Take 1/2 of the dough, use rolling pin and roll out between 2 pieces of parchment paper to desired thickness and cut out shapes. I used various Heart shape cutters. Repeat rolling the dough and cutting shapes until you have used it all.

Pretty red heart

Place cookie shapes on parchment lined baking sheet and space apart 2 inches. Put cookies in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking. They hold their shape when you do this.

Bake cookies for 9-13 minutes, or until center of cookie no longer looks wet. My cookies baked in 13 minutes.

Let cookies cool in baking sheet for 5 minutes and transfer to wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.

Let cookie sheets cool completely before you bake again. I put the cookie sheet in the freezer for 5 minutes. Repeat until you have baked all the cookies.

Red Coconut Heart Cookies

Large Batch Royal Icing
Ingredients
8 Egg Whites

8 teaspoons Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed

12 cups Powdered/Confectioners' Sugar, sifted

Turquoise Coconut Heart Cookies

Directions
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the egg whites and lemon juice.

Transfer to stand or hand held mixer with paddle attachment and mix on high for 1-2 minutes.

With mixer speed on low, slowly add sifted sugar and beat on low until smooth.

If needed, you may add 1 teaspoon of water at a time until you reach the right consistency. Watch the Joy of Baking (link at the end) video for both Flooding Consistency and Piping Consistency Royal Icing. If you prefer a recipe using Meringue Powder, it is also available at this link.

Elegant Coconut Heart Cookies

I separated the icing in plastic containers with lids according to the different colors I needed for tinting.

I used Americolor Soft Gel Paste Food Color in Super White, Super Red, Fuchsia, and Turquoise. I wanted a bright white, so I added two drops of Super White.

Keep the containers covered until you are ready to color. Royal Icing hardens fast so keep it covered when not in use.

I transferred the icing immediately into Squeeze Bottles using a funnel to prevent it from spilling. Keep the squeeze bottle tips covered. If the Royal Icing hardens due to exposure to air, spray a little bit of water and shake bottle well holding the tip with your finger. Test the icing consistency on a paper towel before decorating the cookie.

Use a paintbrush or cookie stick to reach edges, and use tip of cookie stick or a toothpick to pop any air bubbles.

Fuchsia Coconut Heart Cookies

I lined a cookie sheet with paper towels and placed the cookies on cooling tray over it.

I did the outlines first and waited about 15 minutes and then filled the cookies.

I used the following for decoration:
Wilton Valentine Mix Sprinkles
Wilton White Sparkling Sugar
Wilton Blue Sugar
Wilton Blue Sugar Pearls
Wilton White Sugar Pearls
Wilton Nonpareils
Silver Dragees
Celebration Sixlets Blue Candy Coated Chocolate

For further information:
For the Coconut Cut Out Cookie recipe, please visit Glorious Treats: http://www.glorioustreats.com/2015/04/coconut-cut-out-cookies.html

For the Royal Icing recipe and video tutorial, please visit Joy of Baking:
http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.html

Enjoy!

-Sophia/Two Frys