Coconut Thin Cookies
Coconut Thin Cookies are, as the name suggests, crisp, thin and lightly coconutty. This lovely little cookie is the perfect tea-time or snack-time treat.
These cookies are a variation of my wildly popular Lemon Thin Cookies. If you’re interested in the science of baking I recommend that you read through the Lemon Thin post to learn how I tweaked the ingredients to create a perfectly thin and crisp cookie.
Since I’d already done the work to perfect the original recipe, adapting it to make a coconut thin was fairly simple. I had to adjust the flavoring, switching out the lemon zest and extract for cream of coconut and vanilla.
I didn’t reduce the flour in the recipe even though I added more protein with the shredded coconut. More protein could potentially make the batter too thick. A thicker batter would not spread enough to make “thin and crisp” cookies.
Luckily, the shredded coconut contains both protein and fat. The fat in the coconut keeps the batter soft enough to spread nicely in the oven.
Scroll through the process photos to see how to make thin and crispy Coconut Cookies:
For all you coconut lovers (I’m one!) here are some more recipes for you to try: Coconut Pound Cake, Coconut Shortbread Cookies, Snow White Coconut Cake, Coconut Passionfruit Cake, Coconut Macaroons, Pina Colada Pie and German Chocolate Cake.
You’ll also love these Vanilla Wafer cookies.
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Coconut Thins
Ingredients
- 5 oz unsweetened coconut flakes (1 cup after grinding)
- 5 oz all purpose flour (1 cup, see note)
- 5 oz unsalted butter (room temperature, see note*)
- 6 oz confectioner's sugar (1 1/2 cups)
- 1 tablespoon cream of coconut (see note **)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1/4 tsp table salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper (see note).
- Pulse the unsweetened coconut in a food processor until it becomes a rough powder. Add the all purpose flour and pulse a few times to combine. Set the flour mixture aside.5 oz unsweetened coconut flakes, 5 oz all purpose flour
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl. Add the cream of coconut and vanilla extract mix until well combined. Add the egg and mix until well combined. Scrape the bowl. Add the salt, baking soda and coconut/flour and mix until incorporated.5 oz unsalted butter, 6 oz confectioner's sugar, 1 tablespoon cream of coconut, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 large egg, 1/4 tsp table salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- Use a .75 oz scoop or a tablespoon to scoop the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving 2" between the cookies. They will spread as they bake so make sure to leave enough room.
- Bake until the edges are golden brown and the middle of the cookies are set, 8-10 minutes.
- Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
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The cookies I baked did not turn out to be thin and crispy to resemble the ones above. Instead, they are denser with a soft and spongy texture and domed shape. Could this be the result of grinding the coconut too much? The packaged coconut I used was already finely shredded. Should I use it as is?
Did you use unsweetened coconut as specified in the recipe? Did you use coconut cream, not coconut milk?
I used unsweetened fine shredded coconut and the top thickened part of my coconut milk can as another option based on the recipe notes. I did not specifically have canned cream of coconut on hand.
I find myself confused about “coconut milk”. I appreciate recipes that include brand names such as COCO LOPEZ. Is that what you suggest for this recipe? Could sweetened coconut flakes be used? Could I use 1/2 vanilla & the other half coconut extract to deepen the coconut flavor? Thank you for the recipe. I’m excited to make these today.
I’m not sure where the confusion is coming from. The recipe uses “coconut cream” and the notes say “Use canned cream of coconut or skim the cream from a can of coconut milk.” It doesn’t matter which brand you use as long as you use canned coconut milk or coconut cream. I would not suggest using sweetened coconut flakes as that would change the amount of sugar in the recipe and sweetened coconut is sticky and wouldn’t grind to a powder as unsweetened coconut does. You could use coconut extract if you’d like.