Dessert & Baked Goods › Coconut Love Cookies

Makes About 45 Cookies

Note: The rich dough yields a buttery, shortbread-like cookie that takes well to various flavorings.  Lisa added coconut to these rounds, both inside and out.

• ½ cup lightly packed sweetened shredded coconut, plus about ¾ cup for topping the cookies
• 16 tbsp (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• ⅔ cup sugar
• 1 large egg yolk
• ½ tsp natural coconut flavoring
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt

1. Place ½ cup of the coconut in a small, heavy skillet and set over moderate heat. Toast the coconut, stirring often, for about 3-4-5 minutes or until the shreds are mostly golden.  (Watch out  - coconut burns quickly!)
2. Immediately spread the coconut out on a cutting board to stop the cooking; chop into small bits
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl until creamy.  Add the sugar and beat until fully blended.  Beat in the egg yolk, then the coconut flavoring and vanilla.  Mix in the toasted coconut
4. With the beaters on low speed, mix in the flour, salt and toasted coconut just until combined.  The dough will be crumbly, but will feel moist when pinched.  Gather the dough into a ball, then divide it in half
5. Working with half of the dough at a time on a lightly floured surface, form it into a rough log shape, and then roll it back and forth to form a smooth cylinder about 9" long and 1¼  to 1½  in diameter.  Roll up the log in plastic wrap and secure with a layer of foil
6. Repeat with the remaining dough and refrigerate the logs for a few hours or freeze until firm.  (The logs can be frozen for up to 2 months)
7. Preheat the oven to 350°.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
8. Working with one log at a time, cut the dough into ⅓" thick slices, arranged about 2" apart on the prepared sheet.  Press about ¾ tsp of the remaining shredded coconut on top of each cookie.  Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until the coconut topping is nicely golden.  Carefully transfer the cookies to a rack to cool