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Chewy Coconut Cookies with a tropical twist, make the perfect sweet treat when you want something light. They whip up in under 20 minutes!
These Coconut Cookies are soft, chewy and easy to whip up! For more tasty cookies try Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies, Monster Cookies, and Texas Sheet Cake Cookies.
Coconut-y Cookies
Our family loves cookies. A good cookie recipe makes great after-school snacks or easy family night treats. We love to sit at the table with a glass of milk with these warm chewy goodies and laugh and talk together.
Because they are done in under 30 minutes and only require a handful of ingredients, they are the perfect snacking treat when your sweet tooth is aching and you want something quickly!
These scrumptious Coconut Cookies are soft and chewy but filled with crunchy toasted coconut for lots of flavor and a nice play of textures. This is a delicious twist on the classic cookie (and very similar to our Oatmeal Coconut Cookies). Plus, they are so soft, chewy, tasty – it’s impossible to only eat one!
How to Make Coconut Cookies
PREP. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
MIX. In a small mixing bowl add the the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix and set aside.
CREAM. In a separate medium bowl add the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Cream them together until smooth.
COMBINE. Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.
INCORPORATE. Add the flour mixture, a little at a time, until incorporated. Stir in the coconut.
SPOON. Drop, 3 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheet. You can also line the cookie sheet with parchment paper.
BAKE & COOL. Place the cookie sheet into the preheated oven and bake until lightly toasted, about 8-12 minutes. Move to a wire rack and cool.
Coconut Notes:
- I used unsweetened coconut because the cookies already have a lot of sweetness, but either type works.
- You can easily add or subtract the amount of coconut flakes to your preference without changing the other ingredients. Although, I would not add more than 2 cups of coconut.
- Using toasted coconut is a great way to add extra flavor. To toast the coconut simply spread shredded coconut in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 325°F for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently until mostly golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool. (If you don’t want to use all toasted coconut, you can mix the untoasted coconut into the dough then add some toasted coconut on top.)
- Use room temperature butter and egg as they will incorporate better into the cookie dough. Do not use melted butter otherwise the cookies will spread and be flat and crispy.
Variations and Storing
Variations:
- Add a cup of chopped nuts for more flavor and texture. Almonds, pecans and macadamia nuts are great choices.
- Add a coconut glaze on top. Make the glaze by mixing coconut milk and powdered sugar.
- You can also use a chocolate drizzle or even dip half the cookie in chocolate and sprinkle more coconut flakes or sea salt on the chocolate.
- Add caramel chips to the dough.
- Add chocolate chips.
- The brown sugar adds moisture and creates a chewy cookie. If you increase the amount of brown sugar to ¾ cup and decrease the white sugar to ¼ cup you can make them even more moist and chewy.
- Add extra coconut flavor by substituting the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract with a 1/2 teaspoon of coconut extract to the batter.
FREEZE dough: Like other drop cookies you can freeze the dough to be baked later. Simply scoop the dough onto the baking sheet and place the sheet in the freezer. Once the dough is solid transfer them to a Ziploc. Freeze for 1-2 months. Bake according to the recipe adding a few extra minutes if baking from frozen state.
STORE: Serve warm or at room temperature. Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for 3-5 days. Cookies can be frozen for up to 2-3 months separate layers with parchment or wax paper.
For more coconut recipes, try:
- Coconut Cake
- Coconut Cream Pie
- Chocolate Oatmeal Coconut Cookie
- Toasted Coconut Cookie Bars
- Peach Coconut Banana Bread
- Oatmeal Coconut Cookies
Coconut Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 c all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 c butter
- 1/2 c brown sugar packed
- 1/2 c sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/3 c coconut flakes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C
- In a small mixing bowl add the the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix and set aside.
- In a separate medium sized bowl add the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Cream them together until smooth.
- Add the egg and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the flour, a little at a time, until incorporated. Mix in the coconut.
- Drop, 3 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheet.
- Bake until lightly toasted, about 8-12 minutes. Move to a wire rack and cool.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m an amateur baker and don’t have a mixer – Despite that, these came out flawless (the toasted coconut definitely adds!) and much to my surprise they were not even flat. Proud of these and appreciate the recipe! They’re a hit!
This is coconut heaven in a cookie!! So yummy and soft!!!
Absolutely yummy! Followed the recipe except for 2 minor changes, reduced both sugars to 1/3 cup as dietary restrictions. They still spread out and fantastic.
Thank you so much for sharing your love of cooking & baking with us all.
Aw thank you so much for your kind words and for giving the recipe a try!! Glad the cookies turned out too!
Do you use salted or unsalted butter?
I typically use unsalted when baking goodies, but you could get away with either in this recipe. Whatever you have you can use!
Hi Luna, I made these today. I read all of the reviews first. I used toasted sweetened coconut, reduced sugars to 1/3 cup, 1/4 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp coconut extract, 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts, 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips. Baked 12 min. at 350. These cookies are so, so good! Great recipe that allows tweaking with no trouble. You can do what ever is your whim of the day! I will be back to your site! Thank you.
You’re welcome!! Thanks so much for sharing what you did. I’m glad the cookies were a success! Hope to see you back again. 🙂
Love these but mine came out flat too- taste is delish ! I’ll try a little baking powder next time? I put a little in my almond cookies and they rise a bit.
Thanks for this recipe
You’re welcome. These cookies are a flatter cookie in general. You can always try chilling the dough too if you don’t want them as flat. But I’m so glad to hear the taste was yummy!
These won me best in show at the county fair!
Hooray!!! That is awesome news. So exciting!
These coconut cookies are delicious. I decreased the sugars and it was perfect. I used 1/3 cup each of white and brown sugars with 1 1/3 cup sweetened coconut flakes. I baked them in a 350 degree oven 7 minutes. They were chewy inside and a big hit with my family. I also dipped 1/2 of the cookie in melted chocolate for icing. Thanks for this fabulous recipe.
Oh that sounds amazing!! Dipping in chocolate…. I’ve got to give that a try! Thanks for sharing. Glad to hear the cookies were a hit!
These cookies are literally so good. Im screaming and practically eat half of them!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much! That’s great to hear!
These cookies are awesome! The coconut was just enough to not be over powering but give them a delicious flavor and great texture. We used sweetened coconut because that’s what we had in the pantry and they turned out great!
Yay! So glad to hear that you enjoyed the cookies. Thanks for giving the recipe a try!