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Home » Recipes » Desserts

Published: Jun 29, 2020 · Modified: Sep 23, 2022 by Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Toasted Coconut Sugar Cookies

Jump to Recipe

Say hello to summer in cookie form with toasted coconut sugar cookies! These sweet, buttery sugar cookies are full of tropical flavor with that soft, chewy texture everyone loves. Plus, they're incredibly simple to make for even the beginner baker. You won't find a more perfect summer cookie.

A plate of toasted coconut sugar cookies with coconut on the side and flowers and milk in the background.
Jump to:
  • Why You'll Love This Recipe
  • Ingredients
  • Step-by-Step Instructions
  • Recipe FAQs
  • Expert Tips
  • Perfect Pairing
  • Can't Get Enough Cookies?
  • 📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love This Recipe

With summer here, you need a delicious but easy and portable dessert for all your backyard barbecuing needs -- something that can hold up to the hottest temperatures without refrigeration. No fussy preparation is required, and serving is as simple as grab and go for a casual evening.

Enter these toasted coconut sugar cookies! Not only do these little treats check all the aforementioned boxes, but they're also bakery-style sugar cookies as opposed to those puffier, more cake-like sugar cookies used for extra fancy decorating. And let's be honest. That's the best kind of sugar cookie.

Bakery-style sugar cookies have a tender, chewy bite with a crinkly top and buttery, moist base. Those more decorative sugar cookies tend to have a drier, almost crumbly texture. Plus, the toasted coconut adds even more chewiness. If you're all about a chewy texture, these cookies were made for you.

Bonus: If you love these tropical summer cookies, be sure to also check out my macadamia nut-coconut chocolate chip cookies and butterscotch-coconut-bourbon cookies!

Ingredients

The coconut sugar cookie ingredients with labels on a lightly colored board.

And those are all the ingredients you need. As you can see, everything should be easy to find in the grocery store, which is yet another reason to love this recipe.

For the coconut, I used sweetened coconut. I just love flavor you get from the sweetened variety, and it's more commonly used in baking. That said, you could also substitute it with unsweetened coconut. While unsweetened coconut is a bit drier and chewier, it will work.

Step-by-Step Instructions

How to Toast Coconut

I like to toast coconut on the stove in a skillet, and the process couldn't be simpler.

Step 1: We toss a bunch of coconut into a nonstick skillet and cook over medium heat (photo 1). Every so often, we give the skillet a shake to keep the coconut from burning.

After several minutes, our coconut will brown like so (photo 2) and turn fragrant. Now we're ready to move on to the rest of our cookie recipe.

A collage showing the process of toasting the coconut in a skillet.

How to Prepare Cookie Dough

The rest of this recipe is similar to making your typical drop cookies. Unless you're a cookie rookie, this process should feel familiar.

Step 2: We start by stirring together our flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and setting that aside (photo 3).

The dry ingredients mixed together in a glass bowl.

Step 3: In a large mixing bowl, we add softened butter and sugar and beat until it's light and fluffy like so (photo 4).

The butter and sugar after it's been creamed together in a mixing bowl.

Step 4: From here, we add in vanilla extract and coconut extract for an extra dose of tropical flavor as well as freshly squeezed lemon juice. We then beat in our eggs one at a time (photo 5). We want to add in our eggs one at a time to prevent overbeating, so don't just throw them in all at once, thinking it doesn't matter.

Beating in the eggs one at a time in the mixing bowl.

Step 6: Now we stir in a little of our flour mixture at a time (photo 6) and repeat the process until we incorporate all of the dry ingredients (photo 7).

Beating in some of the flour with the egg and sugar mixture in a large bowl.

Step 7: Once the flour is all incorporated, we add our toasted coconut (photo 8 and 9), and we're ready to refrigerate our dough.

Adding the toasted coconut to the mixing bowl with the dough.

Step 8: After refrigerating, we shape our dough into golf ball-size dough balls by rolling them in our hands and then place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

The cookie dough on a baking sheet ready for the oven.

Step 9: After baking, we place the cookies on a wire rack to cool, but do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a coconut sugar cookie while it's still warm.

Tip: For an extra decadent touch, sprinkle some homemade vanilla sugar right when they come out of the oven! You'll love the extra vanilla flavor with the toasted coconut.

Recipe FAQs

Why refrigerate cookie dough?

Before baking, we need to refrigerate this cookie dough for at least an hour. Yes, I realize this might be annoying, but if we don't refrigerate the dough, the cookies will overspread in the oven. The butter in the dough needs some time to firm back up before it hits that hot environment.

So go enjoy a little Netflix time, come back in an hour and the cookie dough will be ready for baking, which just takes nine minutes per batch.

When the toasted coconut sugar cookies come out of the oven, they may look slightly underbaked, but that just means you did it correctly. This ensures our cookies stay perfectly soft and chewy after cooling.

Do you have to use parchment paper on the baking sheet?

Yes. To prevent overspreading, you want to place the unbaked cookie dough on parchment paper with no cooking spray. If you have a silicone baking mat, you can use that as well.

Can you roll out this sugar cookie dough?

This recipe is designed to be for drop sugar cookies, not cut-out sugar cookies. These are more of your chewy sugar cookies rather than the more cake-like type that you decorate with royal icing.

Looking down onto a plate of coconut sugar cookies with pink flowers behind it.

Expert Tips

  • When measuring your flour and sugar, don't scoop the cup into bag. That packs in too much of our ingredient. Instead, spoon into the measuring cup and use a knife to level off any excess.
  • Make sure your eggs are room temperature before beating. Room-temperature eggs incorporate much better than cold eggs. Simply allow them to sit for 30 minutes in room temperature. If you forget, place them in warm -- not hot -- water for 10 minutes.
  • The lemon juice adds a nice brightness, but it also activates the baking soda, so don't skip this ingredient, thinking it's just for an extra flavor boost.
  • For beating the cookie dough, I use my Kitchenaid mixer to handle this step. Three to four minutes of beating the sugar and butter on speed four works well for me. A hand mixer also works -- just make sure you give this step a few minutes of beating to incorporate enough air into the mixture.

Perfect Pairing

Beer and cookies are one of my favorite pairings, and I love an imperial stout with these toasted coconut sugar cookies. The inherent sweetness from the high alcohol content makes it perfect for all sorts of desserts, and coconut is a delicious match to that roasted malt.

For wine, an oaked chardonnay is a fun match. Oak barrels often impart a coconut flavor, and the buttery chardonnay fits perfectly with our cookie dough base. A riesling is another delicious option.

And, of course, if you want to really play up the coconut flavor, you can't go wrong with tropical cocktails. My coconut margarita and coconut-watermelon mojito are obvious choices.

When you need the perfect summer treat, I hope you try these toasted coconut sugar cookies. You'll love that tropical flavor packed into one delicious treat.

Cheers!

A toasted coconut sugar cookie split in half to show the chewy texture.

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If you love this recipe, please leave a comment with a five-star rating — or simply hit the five-star button in the recipe card. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter, and you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok.

📖 Recipe

A plate of toasted coconut sugar cookies with coconut on the side and flowers and milk in the background.

Toasted Coconut Sugar Cookies

Say hello to summer in cookie form! These sweet, buttery toasted coconut sugar cookies are full of tropical flavor with that soft, chewy texture everyone loves. You won't find a more perfect summer cookie.
5 from 53 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Desserts
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 9 minutes
Total Time: 29 minutes
Servings: 20 cookies
Calories: 350kcal
Author: Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Equipment

  • Stand or hand mixer
  • Mixing bowl
  • Large baking sheet
  • Parchment paper
  • Wire racks

Ingredients

  • 1 ⅓ cups sweetened shredded coconut
  • 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup salted butter softened
  • 1 ½ cups granulated white sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon coconut extract
  • Additional granulated sugar or turbinado sugar for dusting optional

Instructions

  • In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the coconut until it begins to brown and turn fragrant. Stir every so often to prevent burning. Set aside.
  • Stir together flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder in a small bowl. Set aside.
  • Cream together the softened butter with sugar until light and fluffy.
  • Scrape the creamed butter off the side of the bowl. Add one egg with the lemon juice and extracts. Beat just until combined. Repeat with the second egg. Once both eggs are combined, scrape the dough off the side of the bowl again.
  • Add a spoonful or two of the flour mixture at a time and stir until incorporated. Repeat until all the flour mixture is combined into the dough. Stir in toasted coconut.
  • Chill the cookie dough in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
  • Heat oven to 375 degrees. On a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, form the dough into approximately golf ball-size dough balls.
  • Bake for nine minutes. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for a couple minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, dust with additional granulated sugar or turbinado sugar while still warm. Store in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Notes

  • When measuring your flour and sugar, don't scoop the cup into bag. That packs in too much of our ingredient. Instead, spoon into the measuring cup and use a knife to level off any excess.
  • Make sure your eggs are room temperature before beating. Room-temperature eggs incorporate much better than cold eggs. Simply allow them to sit for 30 minutes in room temperature. If you forget, place them in warm -- not hot -- water for 10 minutes.
  • The lemon juice adds a nice brightness, but it also activates the baking soda, so don't skip this ingredient, thinking it's just for an extra flavor boost.
  • For beating the cookie dough, I use my Kitchenaid mixer for this step. Three to four minutes of beating the sugar and butter on speed four works well for me. A hand mixer also works -- just make sure you give this step a few minutes of beating to incorporate enough air into the mixture.
  • Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 350kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 183mg | Sugar: 25g
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @BurrataandBubbles or tag #burratandbubbles!

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Niki says

    August 30, 2021 at 3:14 pm

    Can these be rolled into shapes?

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 30, 2021 at 6:29 pm

      Hi, Niki. I made this recipe as a drop cookie, so it hasn't been tested as a cut-out. But they're delicious and I hope you still give it a try!

      Reply
  2. Freya says

    August 18, 2021 at 11:39 am

    5 stars
    I love sugar cookies but I adored this new coconut twist! Thank you for this great recipe!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 18, 2021 at 8:13 pm

      You're very welcome, Freya!

      Reply
  3. Aya says

    August 18, 2021 at 10:18 am

    5 stars
    This looks so delicious! I first had coconut sugar cookies a few years ago, and I fell in love with them. I have been looking for a recipe, and this sounds just perfect.

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 18, 2021 at 8:13 pm

      This sounds perfect for you!

      Reply
  4. Kay says

    August 18, 2021 at 1:47 am

    5 stars
    We all love coconut here, so knew these would be a winner for me and the kids! Made with the kids and took them around to a family gathering with us and they all went - so a success!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 18, 2021 at 4:02 pm

      Awww, I'm so glad the whole family loved them!

      Reply
  5. Jerika says

    August 18, 2021 at 1:18 am

    5 stars
    I love to partner these buttery toasted coconut sugar cookies with my coffee.:) What a perfect snack and treat. Thank you.:)

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 18, 2021 at 4:01 pm

      You're very welcome!

      Reply
  6. Kayla DiMaggio says

    August 17, 2021 at 8:34 pm

    5 stars
    I loved these coconut cookies! They were so delicious! Sugar cookies are my husband's favorite and he is a huge coconut fan so these were a hit in my house!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      August 18, 2021 at 10:42 am

      I'm so happy to hear that! They're my husband's favorite too. I told him I was planning on making them this week to celebrate these final weeks of summer, and he got very excited!

      Reply
  7. Lilly says

    June 24, 2021 at 5:28 pm

    5 stars
    These cookies are so delish! I couldn't stop eating them 🙂

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      June 26, 2021 at 9:34 am

      I’ve been there!

      Reply
  8. Jill says

    June 23, 2021 at 9:05 pm

    5 stars
    such great flavors, they are the perfect summer cookies!

    Reply
    • Amanda McGrory-Dixon says

      June 24, 2021 at 7:40 am

      I really can't think of anything better for the summer!

      Reply
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Hi, I'm Amanda, a Denver-based lady who believes life is best spent with comforting meals, tasty beverages and good company. When I'm not playing in the kitchen, I'm probably exploring new breweries with my husband, Matt, or obsessing over my adorable dog, Baylor.

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