These chewy coconut cookies are soft butter cookies packed with sweetened shredded coconut, with crisp golden edges and a tender middle. The recipe makes 24 cookies in about 25 minutes: 15 minutes to mix and 10 to 12 minutes at 350°F.
The trick is the coconut split. One and a half cups go into the dough for chew, and the last half cup goes on top, where it toasts in the oven. Take the tray out while the centers still look a little underdone.
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- Makes: 24 cookies, about 3 tablespoons of dough each
- Time: 15 minutes prep, 10 to 12 minutes baking, 25 minutes total
- Oven: 350°F (175°C), middle rack, parchment-lined baking sheet
- Coconut: 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, 1 ½ cups in the dough and ½ cup sprinkled on top
- Butter and sugar: 1 cup softened butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, ½ cup packed brown sugar
- Keeps: 5 days in an airtight container; unbaked dough balls freeze for 3 months
Sweetened or Unsweetened Shredded Coconut?
Use sweetened shredded coconut here. It is moist and soft from the bag, so it bakes into chewy strands inside the cookie. Unsweetened coconut is dry. It soaks up moisture from the dough, and you get a less sweet, crisper cookie that dries out faster on day two.
Sweetened coconut packs into clumps in the bag. Pull the clumps apart with your fingers before you fold it in, or one cookie gets a wet lump and the next gets none.
For a deeper, nutty flavor, toast half of the coconut first. Spread it on a baking sheet and bake at 325°F for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring once. It goes from pale to brown fast near the end, so stay close. Let it cool before it touches the butter, and keep the untoasted half for chew.
How These Differ From Coconut Macaroons
Plenty of people searching for coconut cookies are picturing macaroons. They are different bakes. These are drop cookies: butter and sugar creamed, then flour, eggs and coconut, so they bake up like a soft sugar cookie full of coconut. Coconut macaroons are mostly coconut held together with egg white or condensed milk. They have no flour, so they are naturally gluten free, and they are denser and chewier all the way through.
Pick these when you want a cookie jar cookie that stacks and travels well. Pick macaroons when you want pure coconut and a crisp toasted shell.
Creaming, Mixing and Folding the Coconut Dough
Leave the butter out for about an hour. It should dent easily under a finger but not look shiny or greasy. Beat it with both sugars for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture turns pale and fluffy. Granulated sugar crisps and browns the edges, and the molasses in brown sugar keeps the middles soft and chewy.
Beat in the 2 eggs one at a time, then the 2 teaspoons of vanilla, until the mixture looks smooth.
Whisk the 2 ½ cups flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda and ½ teaspoon salt in a separate bowl so the soda is spread evenly. Spoon the flour into the cup and level it. A cup scooped straight from the bag packs in extra flour, and the cookies come out dry and domed.
Stir the dry mix into the butter mixture just until the last streaks of flour disappear. Mixing past that point makes the cookies tough. The dough should feel soft but not sticky.
Fold in 1 ½ cups of coconut with a spatula. Scoop about 3 tablespoons of dough per ball, which gives you 24, and set them 2 inches apart. Press each ball down slightly and sprinkle a pinch of the remaining ½ cup coconut on top.
Golden Edges, Soft Middles: When to Pull the Tray
Bake one tray at a time on the middle rack for 10 to 12 minutes. They are ready when the edges and the coconut on top are golden and the centers still look pale, soft and a little puffy. They will not look finished. Leave them on the hot tray for 5 minutes, where they keep setting, then move them to a wire rack.
At 10 minutes the cookies stay soft and chewy. At 12 minutes the edges get crisper. Go past that and the whole cookie turns crunchy as it cools. If you rolled smaller balls, start checking at 8 minutes.
Why Coconut Cookies Spread Flat or Bake Up Dry
- Thin, greasy cookies: the butter was too warm or the tray was hot from the last batch. Chill the dough for 30 minutes and always put the dough on a cool tray.
- Dry, puffy cookies: too much flour or too long in the oven. Spoon and level the flour, and pull the tray while the centers are still pale.
- Coconut on top burned: the tray sat too low in the oven. Use the middle rack.
- Crumbly, not chewy: unsweetened coconut was used, or the cookies baked to a full brown. Use sweetened coconut and take them out 1 minute sooner.
Keeping Coconut Cookies Chewy for Days
Cool the cookies completely, then store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Baked cookies freeze well in a freezer bag and thaw on the counter in about 30 minutes.
To freeze the dough, roll the balls, freeze them on a tray until firm, then bag them for up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, add the coconut on top, and give them 1 to 2 extra minutes.
More Coconut Cookie Flavors to Try
Add ½ teaspoon almond extract with the vanilla for a coconut almond flavor. If you like that pairing, my coconut almond truffles go all in on it. Roll the dough balls in cinnamon sugar before baking and you get a cookie close to my coconut churro cookies.
For a fruity batch, try coconut mango cookies, or coconut espresso cookies for a coffee note. Chocolate fans can bake coconut chocolate chip cookies or the darker chocolate coconut cookies.
Coconut Cookie Questions From the Kitchen
Are coconut biscuits the same as coconut cookies?
Yes. Biscuit is the British word for cookie, so chewy coconut biscuits and chewy coconut cookies are the same bake.
Do I have to chill the dough?
No. The dough goes straight onto the tray. Chill it for 30 minutes only if it feels greasy or your kitchen is warm.
Can I use coconut flakes instead of shredded coconut?
Yes, but chop sweetened flakes smaller first. Large flakes do not hold the dough together, and the cookies break apart.
Can I make half a batch?
Yes. Use ½ cup butter, ½ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 ¼ cups flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt and 1 cup coconut. That makes 12 cookies.
Can I make them with coconut flour?
Not in this recipe. Coconut flour absorbs far more liquid than wheat flour. Use a recipe built for it, like these coconut flour cookies.
Coconut Cookies Recipe
These chewy coconut cookies are soft butter cookies made with sweetened shredded coconut, butter, granulated and brown sugar, eggs, vanilla and all-purpose flour. The recipe makes 24 coconut cookies in about 25 minutes, with crisp golden edges, chewy centers and a toasted coconut top. One and a half cups of coconut go into the dough and the last half cup is sprinkled on before baking at 350°F, so you get coconut strands inside and a golden crust outside. It is an easy coconut cookie recipe for cookie trays, lunch boxes, bake sales and holiday cookie boxes. Add almond extract for a coconut almond cookie, store them airtight for 5 days, or freeze the dough balls for 3 months.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut (divided: 1 ½ cups for dough, ½ cup for topping)
Instructions
- PREHEAT THE OVEN: Set your oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- CREAM THE BUTTER AND SUGARS: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes. Use a hand mixer, stand mixer, or a wooden spoon.
- ADD EGGS AND VANILLA: Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated and the mixture looks smooth.
- MIX DRY INGREDIENTS: In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt to evenly distribute the leavening.
- COMBINE WET AND DRY: Gradually stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing just until no flour streaks remain. Avoid overmixing to maintain a tender texture.
- FOLD IN COCONUT: Gently fold 1 ½ cups of the sweetened shredded coconut into the cookie dough until evenly distributed.
- FORM DOUGH BALLS: Scoop the dough into balls using a cookie scoop or tablespoon and place them on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
- TOP WITH COCONUT: Lightly press each dough ball to slightly flatten, then sprinkle a pinch of the remaining ½ cup of shredded coconut on top of each cookie.
- BAKE: Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the centers appear just set. The centers should look slightly soft—they will continue to cook as they cool.
- COOL: Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Take the cookies out when the edges are golden and the centers still look pale and soft; they finish setting on the hot tray in 5 minutes. Use sweetened shredded coconut and break up any clumps before folding it in; unsweetened coconut makes a drier, crisper cookie. Spoon and level the flour so the cookies do not turn dry and puffy. If the dough feels greasy or the kitchen is warm, chill it for 30 minutes, and always put the dough on a cool baking sheet. Bake one tray at a time on the middle rack. For deeper flavor, toast half the coconut at 325°F for 5 to 8 minutes and cool it first. Store cooled cookies airtight for up to 5 days. Freeze unbaked dough balls for up to 3 months and bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes.
Nutrition Information
Yield
24Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 138Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 17mgSodium 128mgCarbohydrates 26gFiber 1gSugar 15gProtein 2g
