Coconut Shortbread Cookies
Shortbread cookies are incredibly popular in Hawaii, so I decided to make a batch inspired by the tropical scenery! Coconut shortbread cookies are tender with a mellow coconut flavor in the dough, as well as a sweet coconut topping.
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Coconut Shortbread Cookies
There are a few key ingredients that give these coconut shortbread cookies their iconic flavor and texture. Coconut extract, almond flour, and if you’re feeling extra, shredded coconut. The extract adds just enough of the tropical flavor without the cookies tasting like sunscreen.
Using a small amount of almond flour in the dough ensures a wonderful texture. It won’t develop gluten and it prevents the cookies from becoming too dry. However, you should be fine to replace the almond flour with more all purpose flour if there is a nut allergy concern.
Cutting & Baking
Instead of fiddling with cookie cutters, I thought I’d try slicing the rolled out cookie dough into large-ish rectangles. You can cut them into any shape you want, but keep an eye on the bake time if your cookies are much smaller than mine.
These coconut shortbread cookies did spread a bit in the oven, but once I added a white chocolate drizzle and shredded coconut, I barely even noticed.
Top Tips for Cut Out Cookies
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. This will help everything blend nicely and give your cookies a nice texture.
- Scrape down your bowl often. Butter and sugar can hide out at the bottom of your bowl. Make sure everything gets blended!
- Do NOT over mix. Once you add the dry ingredients, keep the speed on stir and only mix to combine.
- Use a rolling pin with measurement guides to get an even thickness.
- Cold dough won’t spread as much in the oven.
- Bake a test cookie before baking the rest of the batch to determine the best bake time.
Simple or Drizzle
While these coconut shortbread cookies were super yummy, they are a bit boring to look at. So I drizzled most of my batch with white chocolate and shredded coconut for flavor and visual interest. I kept a few of my cookies plain just in case my son hated the shredded coconut on top. They tasted just as delicious!
You can watch me bake and decorate these tropical shortbread cookies in this step by step video tutorial on my YouTube channel.
Related Reading: Honey & Mint Sandwich Cookies
Enjoy!
Bite into one of these tender coconut shortbread cookies and let the buttery goodness melt in your mouth. Smooth, tropical coconut is the quiet hero in every bite. I hope you get to make a batch for yourself soon.
Make sure to pin this recipe for later!
Coconut Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 260 g all purpose flour
- 40 g almond flour
- ¾ tsp salt
- 226 g unsalted butter softened
- 113 g sugar
- 1 tsp coconut extract
- 50 g white chocolate optional
- 50 g shredded coconut optional
Instructions
- Sift together the flours and salt. Whisk to combine, then set aside.
- In a bowl add butter, sugar, and coconut extract. With a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat on a low speed until combined, about 3 minutes. Scrape the bowl down at least once during this step.
- Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter and mix on low just until combined.
- Between two sheets of parchment paper, roll out the dough to a thickness of 10mm. Place in the fridge to chill until firm, about 1 hour.
- About 20 minutes before your dough is done chilling, begin preheating your oven to 325℉.
- Slice the rolled out cookie dough into any shape, or use cookie cutters. Keep in mind that the dough will spread some in the oven. Place the cold cookies onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cookies are set and there's no more than a hint of light golden brown along the edges.
- Cool on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
- Once cool, you can decorate if you'd like. Finely chop the white chocolate and melt in the microwave on 50% power. Transfer to a piping bag and snip off a tiny bit of the tip. Drizzle over the cooled cookies and immediately sprinkle with shredded coconut. Let the chocolate set before serving or storing.
Notes
- The number of cookies you get will vary depending on the size you cut the dough into. I was able to get 15 fairly large cookies.
- I pulsed my coconut in a mini food processor so that it would be smaller and easier to sprinkle.
Colleen
Hi there! I’m Colleen, a novice baker with a passion for learning and improving my bakes… and blunders. On Bakes and Blunders, you can find all sorts of tasty recipes that range in difficulty, but most importantly, I’ll try to explain the reason behind important steps. If you know why a recipe works, you can tweak and adapt it to suit your unique tastes, and you’ll be able to reliably produce some very delicious treats. If you love baking and want to expand and grow your skills, or if you are a casual baker and just need some pointers, my blog is right up your alley! Join me on my baking journey and we’ll learn how to make more impressive recipes together.
