Coconut cookies of your dreams!
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These are the most delicious and easy coconut cookies you could dream of. They are soft and chewy, with irresistible crispy edges, and bursting with sweet coconut flavor. You need 1 bowl, 5 ingredients, and minimal prep.
Published in April 2020/updated Dec 8, 2023
For all the coconut lovers out there, this is the only coconut cookie recipe you will ever need. Seriously.
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This coconut cookie recipe is a throwback from 2020, but I’ve made some important tweaks and made them amazingly delicious this time. I’m so excited that I improved texture and flavor with this new version, and it’s also way easier than the original.
First, I blend the desiccated coconut until it has a flour-like consistency. The lighter texture makes the cookies exceptionally moist. I’ve also added more lemon zest for freshness and lovely vanilla extract, and both pair wonderfully with the sweet coconut flavor.
I’ve also made these coconut cookies naturally flourless and gluten-free.
I tested the new recipe several times and am delighted to say I’ve had the most delicious coconut cookies ever. Crispy on the outside, moist and chewy inside, filled with coconut goodness and dusted with powdered sugar for a wonderful snowy whiteness.
They look gorgeous and elegant and keep very well for days, making them the perfect Christmas cookies to bake and share with family and friends. They will be a HUGE hit with everyone!
Bonus? They are incredibly easy to make in 1 bowl.
But don’t take my word for it; grab a bowl, and let’s make coconut cookies!
List of the ingredients
- Unsweetened desiccated coconut
- Powdered sugar
- Egg whites
- Lemon or lime zest
- Vanilla extract
How to make coconut cookies
(Note: this is a description of the method; the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- Place the desiccated coconut in a high-powered blender, food processor, or coffee grinder. Blend or grind just until it gets a flour-like consistency.
- Add the ground coconut, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract, and egg whites to a bowl.
- Combine all the ingredients using a spoon until you get a soft, smooth, pliable coconut cookie mixture. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
- Scoop, roll, and shape a tablespoon coconut mixture into balls.
- Coat each coconut ball with desiccated coconut and place them on a baking sheet.
- Press them into round coconut cookies (about 2/3 inch / 1.7 cm thick).
- Bake for about 14 minutes. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Ingredients for coconut cookies
Coconut: I used unsweetened, desiccated coconut. Shredded or flaked coconut works as we process it in a blender until we get a flour consistency. I’ve never used sweetened coconut flakes. If you have coconut leftover, check out my delicious coconut bread and cookies with chocolate!
Sugar: The powdered sugar (aka icing sugar in the UK) works best for this recipe. If you don’t have this type of sugar on hand, process regular sugar in a blender; that’s what I usually do using my high-speed blender.
Vanilla extract + lemon zest: It’s a wonderful combination with coconut flavor, providing fresh notes and aroma.
Egg whites: They give a lighter, chewy texture.
Tips for the best coconut cookies
The recipe is pretty straightforward; here are a few tips to make your coconut cookies spot on!
- Blend the coconut: Its fine texture keeps the cookies moist and makes a dough that is smooth, pliable, and easy to work with.
- No need to dry out the coconut flakes: Technically, when we blend the coconut, we are not making coconut flour, so there’s no need to bake or dry out the desiccated coconut. Its high-fat content might make the coconut a grainy mixture when blending; stop after 4-5 seconds. No worries if the mixture is not precisely flour-like in consistency; that won’t affect the texture of your cookies.
- Chill the coconut cookie mixture: Chilling makes shaping and rolling easier.
- Don’t overbake: The cookies spread and are still very soft and pale after baking, but they will dry out quickly as soon as you take them out of the oven.
How to store them
These coconut cookies retain their softness for up to 1 week, if they last that long! To keep them fresh, store them in an airtight container, such as a metal tin, at room temperature. Additionally, you can freeze them for up to 1 month.
More easy cookie recipes?
- Italian fig cookies
- Coconut chocolate chip cookies
- Easy almond cookies
- Almond biscotti (Italian cantucci)
- Vegan chocolate almond biscotti
- 1-bowl orange chocolate cookies
- 15 Amazing Christmas cookies
- Lemon biscotti
- Chocolate dipped biscotti
- Christmas tree cookies
- Reindeer cookies
If you make this easy coconut cookie recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or tag a photo #theclevermeal on Instagram. I would love to hear from you!
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Coconut cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (200 grams) desiccated coconut, finely grounded
- 2 (75 grams) egg whites (from 2 medium-sized eggs)
- 1 cup (120 grams) powdered sugar
- ½ lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Decoration
- ½ cup (40 grams) desiccated coconut, grated
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Instructions
- Prep the coconut: Add the desiccated coconut to either a blender, food processor, or coffee grinder. Pulse until you get a fine texture (it takes just a few seconds), then transfer to a large bowl.
- Combine the mixture: Add the egg whites, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla extract to the ground coconut. Using a spoon, stir the mixture until thoroughly combined, smooth, and pliable. Place the bowl in the fridge for about 15 minutes. This rest in the refrigerator makes the mixture easy to work with.
- Preheat the oven to 340°F / 170°C, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat, and place ½ cup of desiccated coconut (not ground) in a small ball.
- Roll and shape a generous tablespoon of the coconut mixture into balls using your hands. Try to make them similar in size (about 20 grams each).
- Roll the coconut balls in the grated coconut until they're coated. Place them on the baking sheet and gently press them to make round cookies about 1.5 cm thick. Remember, they will spread a little bit once they are in the oven.
- Bake in the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 14 minutes. The cookie will spread and look pale and soft. Remove the baking sheet from the oven and gently transfer them to a cooling rack. They're very delicate when they are warm, but they are perfectly fine and delicious after 10 minutes of rest. Enjoy at room temperature.
sorry but the recipe and comments are confusing. Recipe does not have flour or honey. But some comments mention flour and honey. Please clarify
Hi Simi, please follow the recipe as it is.
Sorry for the confusion, but the old comments refer to a previous recipe that used a combinaton of flour and coconut. But I’ve recently updated and turned that recipe into a gluten-free recipe omitting the flour.
The ingredients are the ones listed in the recipe card (and yes, no flour!). : )
It was very unclear there was supposed to be flour in this recipe. Did not turn out like the image.
Hi Joseph, it’s very, very clear instead. If flour is not listed in the recipe, it’s not used. : )
These are gluten-free cookies. All you have to do is grind the dried coconut into a fine texture (as clearly mentioned in the recipe). If the mixture is pliable and you shape the cookies nicely, they should turn like mine.
Made this – it’s perfectly easy and perfectly delicious. Absolute hit with everyone. Thanks so much – lovely recipe!
I would like to question and measurements because each measurement that you have the measurement that is in (is not accurate to the measurement like a half a cup of Honey is not 6 oz it would be for and a half a cup of flour is not 2 ounces and the three cups of coconut are not 7 oz cup so I’m not understanding the measurements before I do this can you clarify please
Hi Deborah, I used these measurements cup/grams.
1 cup of shredded coconut is about 70 gr/2.5 oz on my kitchen scale. But volume and weight depends on how finely the coconut is grated, hence the cups might not be accurate in this case. However the recipe is easy to work with, you can add a bit more coconut if the dough is too sticky.
1 cup honey is 340 gr/12 oz
1 cup of all-purpose is 125 gr/4.5
Let me know if you have more questions. Hope this helps x
I want to make these cookies …unsure of the flour measurement. Cups?
Hi Dianne, the flour is 1/2 cup, for some reason it’s not listed properly, I’ll amend it now, thank you. x
Are they 136 calories for 1 cookie?
Hi Paula, yes they are. For example, 200 grams of desiccated shredded coconut contains over 1200 calories.
Cheers x.
Hi, is the calorie count for 1 cookie or for 16?
1 cookie 😊
Hi!
Do you think using gf flour would work?
Hi, 😊 I’ve never tested it, but I think it could work. In this recipe, flour works mostly as a binding agent x
Hi Katia, just wondering, would this recipe be possible if I replace the flour with rolled oats? Maybe that’ll work too!
Hi Celena! Both egg and flour help to bring the coconut together, and I think that chuncky rolled oats are not going to work in the recipe x
Thanks! I just made them as it is plus another batch with pandan extract and they both tastes super good!
Hi Celena! I’m so glad you liked them and thanks for sharing your feedback 🙂
Hello Ms. Celena! I was wondering, do you think I could use light corn syrup in place of the honey? Thanks!
~Alicia M.
Hi Alicia, I’ve never tried light corn syrup to be honest… but let’s see if other readers can help. x