Coconut Sandwich Cookies

I put off making these cookies last week, and I’m sorry that I did because they were so good! This week I rushed home to make them so that I wouldn’t put it off again. They came together quite easily. The only challenge that I had was grinding the coconut in the food processor. My coconut didn’t grind down all that much after quite a bit of time in the processor. I figured that it was good enough, plus my cat Heidi was getting mad at me for running such a loud appliance. She’s not a fan of the food processor!

Heidi was not pleased with the noise I was making!

I did sandwich my cookies together, but I didn’t roll them in the extra coconut. I made the mistake of trying to sandwich some the cookies together when they were still warm, which didn’t really work. I had a couple of abstract sandwiches (but they still tasted good). I took these to work and I don’t know if my coworkers were especially eager due to no cookies last week, but they were gone by lunchtime. I felt so bad for my colleague who worked in the afternoon and missed out. They were so good, nice and soft with a great coconut flavor. The cookies stood on their own, and I think that they would have been fine as single cookies, maybe with a simple vanilla glaze. Any way you look at it, they were great! (Direct coworker quote!)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 ounces shredded coconut
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla

Creamy Vanilla Filling
½ cup butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
Milk, if needed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. Place 1/2 cup coconut into a small bowl; set aside. Place remaining coconut in a food processor; pulse until coarsely ground. Set aside.

In a large mixer bowl, beat butter with sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and ground coconut; mix just until combined.

Drop dough by level teaspoons onto prepared baking sheets, 1 to 2 inches apart. Bake until lightly golden around the edges, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. With mixer on medium, beat in powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down bowl as necessary. Add vanilla extract and beat until filling is light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Add milk to adjust the spreading consistency if needed.

Sandwich the cookies together in pairs with the vanilla filling. Roll edges in the ½ cup reserved coconut and chill until ready to serve.

Recipe from Erin Cooks, who found the recipe in Everyday Food