Coconut Cookies with Vanilla Icing

I've always been a fan of Coconut Macaroons or Coconut Cookies, and it was finally time to start the oven and bake some cookies over the weekend. Starting with the simpler of the two, I opted for Coconut Cookies, which are similar to the macaroons, except that they are a lot more easier to make! Just to add some glamour, I decided to add a simple vanilla icing on the top. The cookies came out great; and with the perfect balance of sweetness and taste of coconut, these cookies did not survive in the jar as long as I had imagined they would! They came out chewy, yet not too much, and have a wonderful texture due to the toasted coconut adding a wonderful aroma as well as the texture. To kick things up a notch, just use some vanilla or flavored icing and drizzle it onto the cookies to transform these simple coconut cookies into something more suited to a festive occasion.

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tspn baking soda
1/4 tspn salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tspn vanilla extract
1 cup flaked coconut
1/2 tsp coconut essence (optional, but recommended)
ready-made icing - as required

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

Take 1 tbsp butter, melt it a little, then add the shredded coconut to it. Saute lightly to get a golden, toasted look and aroma. Divide into 2 parts and keep aside.

In a medium bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla and coconut essence until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in the flour mixture, then mix in half of the toasted coconut to it.

Cover with a plastic wrap and freeze the dough for 10-12 mins.

Take a little dough at a time, grease your palms with oil and roughly shape the dough into a cookie. I like the corrugated edges in my cookies so I use this method. You can even use a long fork to make some marks on the cookies for a fancier effect. Instead, you could even drop dough by spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.

Roll each cookie dough in the remaining shredded coconut, or simply sprinkle a little on the top. Place the cookies about 3 inches apart on the baking sheet.

Bake for 5-8 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly toasted. Then turn the cookie sheet around by 180 degrees and bake for another 5 mins until lightly browned on the top. Cool on wire rack till completely cool.

For the icing, take the ready-made icing and add 1 tsp of vanilla essence. You could even use lemon zest or orange zest for a delicate flavor. Use a piping bag with a thin hole (about 2mm) then gently pipe the icing on the cooled cookies in any pattern you want.

You can store the coconut cookies in an airtight container (without icing) for about 20 days. As the cookies themselves are not very sweet, the icing adds a nice touch though.

These coconut cookies are on their way to Suganya who's hosting AFAM-Coconut this month!

These Coconut Cookies with Icing are a wonderful treat any time of the day. Without the icing, they taste like coconut macaroons, albeit a bit less sweet; with the icing, they are fancy enough to be served to guests at a tea-party, and I think I'm going to try orange icing next time!

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Chewy Chocolate-Chip Cookies
Thumbprint-Jam Cookies
Eggless Almond Cookies (Nankhatai)