Lemon Coconut Cookies

Name: Lemon Coconut Cookies
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 cup of butter (slightly melted); 1 & 1/2 cups of sugar; 1 egg; 1 tsp of vanilla; zest of one lemon; 1 tbsp of lemon juice; 1 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp baking powder; 1/2 tsp salt; 3 cups plain flour; 1 cup shredded coconut flakes; 1/2 cup coconut sugar for garnish (can use regular sugar here)

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Lemon Coconut Cookies are a delicious taste of spring. Perfect for pairing with tea, they are a light and delicious treat made with a traditional cookie recipe.

Basic Cookie Recipe made Better

Much like a good HOMEMADE BISCUIT recipe, every good cook needs that perfect cookie recipe in their arsenal. We love to show you how to make a basic thing and give you ingredients that get your creative wheels spinning. This is a great one that shows by adding just lemon juice, coconut and lemon zest, you take a basic cookie and make it different.

The Buttered Home loves the freshness of lemon. Man, I could add it to anything. LEMON PIE, LEMON POTATOES, you name it! Now, Big D loves him some sugar cookies. They are so easy to make but every once in a while, I need a pop of flavor and some texture in my cookies. This recipe incorporates lemon juice and zest for a subtle pop of flavor and the coconut flakes and coconut sugar add just a touch of texture and slight sweetness to the already loved sugar cookie.

What You Will Need

Butter, 1 cup, slightly melted
1 & ½ cups sugar
Zest of 1 Lemon
1 egg
3 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Lemon juice, 1 Tablespoon
1 teaspoon baking soda
Baking powder, 1 teaspoon
½ teaspoon salt
Shredded coconut flakes, 1 cup
½ cup coconut sugar for garnish(can use regular sugar here)

How to Make Them

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slightly melt the butter and add sugar, egg, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix well.
Sprinkle baking soda, baking powder, salt, flour and coconut on top of wet ingredients. Mix well, just until combined.
Using a small ice cream scoop or spoon, scoop out the cookie dough. Form into a ball and just press tops into a little coconut or regular sugar. (This is optional)
Place on ungreased baking sheet or baking mat. Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes. Cool on a rack for 10-15 minutes.

Tips and Tricks

Why do my cookies spread when baking?

If you are pushing them down and not leaving them in balls, this is a common occurrence. I typically suggest leaving them in the ball shape, if you wanted to flatten them a bit, I would only use one or two fingers to just slightly push them down.

Why didn't my cookies rise?

This could be due to a couple of reasons. Check the date on your flour. Flour is not meant to last forever. If it is old and out of date, it will lose some of its magic. Fresh is always better. Also, uneven mixing of baking powder and soda can leave some spots in the dry ingredients. One way to combat this is to sift them with the flour or mix them in the wet ingredients separately, insuring a good mix on each.

Why are my cookies tough?

The most common reason for this is over mixing. Mixing ingredients only until they are combined and no longer is a good rule of thumb. Also cooking times contribute to this problem as well. For example, if after 13-15 minutes at 350 degrees, your cookies don't seem done, take them out for a few minutes. They will continue to cook on the pan until they start to cool. This usually results in the perfect cookie texture. Adding more time to cooking when recommended times are up will result in a crispier and sometimes overdone cookie. Trust your oven and do the above suggested. If they are still not done to your liking, pop them back in the over for 1-2 minutes at a time.

lemon cookies with tea in a blue and white tea service

Cookie perfection.

These lemon coconut cookies are just the right about of sweet. They are perfectly crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Just like in all baking, don’t be intimidated by the ingredient list. It all comes together very quickly and in no time you will have yummy cookies.

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