Coconut Cream Cheese Cookies

I’ve been stuck in a rut of making bar cookies lately, and while I have several more that I want to try, I decided that I would try something different this week. I had planned to make these before, but the inspiration wasn’t there when it was time to bake. Since I had all of the ingredients and wanted to get out of the rut, now was the time to make them.

These cookies don’t require all that many ingredients. The dough is different in that it has butter and cream cheese, but no eggs. Don’t skip the step of toasting the coconut, it makes all the difference! Besides, it will make your kitchen smell divine. I was making the dough and things were going great and then I read in the original recipe “Refrigerate overnight” I figured that was fairly symbolic of my week, where things haven’t gone quite as planned. Oh well.

I ended up refrigerating the dough for about 2 hours, and it worked out just fine. I made these cookies a little larger than usual, they don’t spread at all, and I didn’t want the cookies to be too small. I love the buttery flavor of the toasted coconut, and the cream cheese adds a slight tang. The only thing that I would change is perhaps adding some nuts, as the richness of the cookies needs some crunch. The toasted coconut adds a slight crunch, but they need a little more.

Coconut Cream Cheese Cookies

2-1/2 cups shredded coconut

2 cups + 3 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

¾ cup butter, melted

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

Toast the coconut: preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Spread the coconut on a baking sheets. Toast for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden. (Turn off the oven)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the melted butter and cream cheese on low until combined. Add the sugar and brown sugar and mix on medium until smooth. Gradually add the flour mixture, with the mixer running on low. Stir in the toasted coconut. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.

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

Drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, using about 1-1/2 tablespoons for each cookie.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until cookies are set and are slightly golden. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Vanilla Sugar Blog