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Coconut

Sesame and Coconut Sugar Cookies

by:
November 10, 2009
5
1 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 10 to 12
Author Notes

While I was in college, I was a technical writing intern at a software company. Many of the other employees/interns were guys my age, tech-minded, and not very chatty. One day, as an attempt to start conversation and make some new friends, I brought these cookies into the office. Next thing I knew, I was invited to play Halo and shoot pool after work. These cookies allowed me to be one of the guys. —skylinetothesea

Test Kitchen Notes

WHO: Skylinetothesea works in PR and marketing and lives in Santa Cruz, CA. She is a part-time model and a sci-fi geek.
WHAT: Classic crunchy sugar cookies, with a nutty upgrade.
HOW: Make a basic sugar cookie dough, fold in your coconut and sesame, bake.
WHY WE LOVE IT: These cookies are just simple enough to whip up at any whim (or craving) -- but the addition of the coconut and sesame makes them feel special, elegant. If you're a fan of crunchy cookies, these are most definitely for you. —The Editors

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Ingredients
  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups white sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup grated coconut, plus more for sprinkling
  • 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds, plus more for sprinkling
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 375° F. In a bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
  2. In a larger bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients along with coconut and sesame seeds.
  3. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets. Sprinkle cookies with sesame seeds or the grated coconut.
  4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks. Sprinkle more sesame seeds or coconut on top of cookies if you want. I think they look prettier if you do ;)
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10 Reviews

Write a Review
C F. May 20, 2020
Made these exactly as recipe called for and they turned out more like a good sugar cookie. As others have stated, they lack the coconut flavor you'd think they'd have and the sesame is so subtle, it really just adds a little intrigue. That said, they're tasty and delicious, just not quite what I expected in looking at the ingredients.
Yadi L. December 13, 2015
Made these and they did not spread like the ones in the picture above, but a very good cookie. Would toasting the coconut enhance the flavor of the coconut?
kirsteen August 23, 2015
I think I would try it with coconut flour, which will also make it gluten free for anyone with sensetivities.
suziqcu August 24, 2015
Coconut flour is extremely dry, so you'd have to add additional eggs or adjust something. I read that you should add one egg per ounce of coconut flour...so that's a lot of eggs. Gluten free bakers may have other hints.
Melanie March 4, 2015
I am so happy you posted this recipe. The combo of coconut and sesame is brilliant! In order to have more coconut flavor and add chocolate, I made the following adaptations: used 1/2 c. coconut oil and 1/2 c. butter, used 1 c. evaporated cane juice sugar instead of white sugar, added 1 t. coconut extract, and substituted 3/4 c. coconut flour for 3/4 c. of white flour (along w/the 2c. of white flour). The dough was rather crumbly, but produced a tender cookie. I used a T. cookie scoop, pressing 2 Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate morsels into the dough, so that they are surrounded. I had to manually press the dough together to get it to a round shape. After 5 min. in the oven, I used the bottom of a measuring cup to press gently down on the cookies to flatten them out. They will stay round if you do not press them down. Continued to bake another 5-8 min, until golden brown. They were delicious! Thanks for the inspiration.
beejay45 December 9, 2014
These look scrumptious! My mom used to make something called Danish Butter Cookies, which were similar but contained chopped walnuts and coconut. I couldn't eat walnuts, and it used to drive me crazy. ;) I'll have to try this combo, since I love sesame. Thanks.
suziqcu July 31, 2014
Has anyone made these and used a bit of coconut extract? I have some and I'm thinking...YES!
suziqcu August 24, 2015
Having since used coconut extract, I much prefer using coconut rum. Some extracts are not so great.
catalinalacruz January 22, 2014
These look good, but the name is a little misleading. It sounds like they contain coconut sugar, but the recipe calls for regular sugar. Maybe they should be called Sugar Cookies with Sesame and Coconut.
Shikha K. January 22, 2014
I really need to get my hands on some coconut sugar - I see it everywhere!