Coconut Cookies

It’s hard to believe, but snow has already fallen all around the state of Vermont. Although it soon melted again, the flurries were enough to remind us what’s just around the corner—time to think about changing the tires over and getting the snow shovels out from under all the gardening equipment. A few ski resorts have started blowing their own snow, and opened their trails for eager winter sportspeople. The prospect of a landscape blanketed in white for the next few months brings mixed feelings—I love to prepare for the holidays but I know that, come February, I’ll be dreaming of warm, white sandy tropical beaches. I can’t get away to a tropical island just yet, but I can make cookies with a tropical flavor.

These coconut cookies are a simple variation on the regular butter cookie, but the snowy coating makes them special. I thought snowy owls would be a fitting shape; while many animals change their coats to blend into their white winter world; these large birds are the color of snow year-round. Whatever cookie cutter you choose, decorating these cookies couldn’t be easier; just dip them in a thin coconut glaze, then in grated coconut, and let dry. You can add faces if you like, or leave them plain.


Ann
www.annclark.com

Coconut Cookies
Makes about 18
Be sure to use unsweetened grated coconut (sold in natural food stores) here rather than the sweetened, shredded kind; the finer pieces of the grated coconut make for easier and neater cutting.


Cream together until light and fluffy:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar

Beat in:
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract

Whisk together and add:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir in:
- 2/3 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

Stir just until all ingredients are well blended; do not overmix. Chill dough thoroughly, at least an hour, before rolling. Preheat oven to 350º. Roll dough out on a lightly floured counter to 1/4-inch thickness and cut with your favorite Ann Clark Ltd cookie cutter, then transfer cookies onto cookie sheets that have been lined with parchment paper or silicone liners. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly colored. Let cookies cool slightly on cookie sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost with Coconut Icing (recipe below) and decorate with grated coconut.

Coconut Icing
If you’d prefer, you can substitute an equal amount of coconut milk for the cream (shake the can well before opening), and omit the extract.

Whisk together:
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 6 to 7 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

Pour the glaze into a small, flat bottomed container (such as a plastic sandwich container or a small pie plate). Place 1 cup grated coconut in another flat-bottomed container. Hold a cookie by the edges with your fingertips and dip it, face down, in the coconut glaze then let the excess run off. Turn the cookie face up and gently shake to even out the coating of glaze, if needed. Then dip the cookie in the coconut, pressing it lightly so that the coconut adheres to the entire glazed surface. Set the cookie on a cookie sheet or drying rack and repeat with the remaining cookies.


My favorite shapes for Coconut Cookies are the Owl cookie cutter, the Palm Tree cookie cutter, and the Snowflake cookie cutter.