Coconuty Idul Fitri
Ramadhan is near the end. Then it’s Idul Fitri again. Yet another year had passed. And another year. And another year. Until one day He took me back. Until that day, I’m here, baking.
Happy Idul Fitri to all muslims in the world.
Once again I plead guilty for all my mistakes, for anything I did that might hurt any soul. The fault is mine and mine alone. May Allah have mercy on us. On me, specifically. Amin.
Coconut Cookies
by Yasa Boga, modified by me
200 gr unsalted butter/margarine
200 gr flour
250 gr caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
350 gr coconut, finely shredded
1 tsp vanilla extract
How-to:
- Toast coconut until dry and turn golden in color. Let it cool.
- Preheat the oven at 150 degree Celsius. Lightly brush your cookie sheet with margarine or butter.
- Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until soft. Add egg yolks, continue beating until well blended. Stop beating.
- Alternately, add flour and toasted coconut. Blend well using wooden spoon.
- Using 2 teaspoons, drop the dough onto a cookie sheet, giving enough space for each cookie to spread a little bit. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool on the rack.
Attention:
- Like all other cookies recipes, the rule of thumb is: hold the flour. Add the flour gradually, until the dough reaches soft dropping consistency, then stop. Don’t worry about the remaining flour, you don’t need it that much.
This has something to do with the butter or margarine you use, the eggs, the flour itself, which can vary from one to another. One might use butter, which is way softer than margarine; one might use bigger or smaller eggs; the flour might contain more or less water; and so on. That’s why sometimes we found one dough is too thick, while another person using the same recipe yields totally different result. In this case, I noticed the dough was in perfect consistency when using butter, while it’s too stiff using margarine, particularly the non-trans-fat margarine which is already stiff on its own. So, add the flour gradually until the dough is just right, then forget the rest of the flour. Dead simple. - Do not substitute dessicated coconut for the toasted coconut flakes. Buy fresh shredded coconut, toast it in your pan or wok until dry and golden in color. It’s not as painful as it sounds, not as labor-intensive as it seems. Take it from me, lazy is my middle name. The result is incomparable. Forget store-bought dry coconut. Fill your kitchen with the divine smell of toasted fresh coconut flakes instead. It’s only worth it.
- Some of you might want to reduce the sugar a little bit. Not too much, though. About 25 gram is enough, as the sugar helps forming the crunchy texture. If you don’t have caster sugar, I suggest to grind your sugar a little bit using your blender.
- Do not omit the salt, it brings out the coconut flavor more to the surface.
- When the cookies turn golden brown, the middle part will still be a little bit soft. No worries, take them out of the oven anyway and let them cool on the rack. They will harden as they cool.
- Next time, I’d love to tweak this recipe by adding coconut milk to the dough. A little bit, maybe about 30-50 ml to kick it up a notch. I will add it after the eggs, before adding the flour and coconut. Will let you know how it turns.
- Finally, enjoy these wonderful cookies. If you like Verkade Kokos like I do, this recipe will be your baby.
Comment by Chennette — September 28, 2008 @ 12:31 pm
Eid Mubarak!
I love coconut - these look great!
Comment by vania — September 29, 2008 @ 10:16 am
Selamat Lebaran Mbak.
Maaf lahir batin. Boleh bertamu dan nyicip kue2nya?
Paling tidak bisa nyoba bangket dan coconut cookies-nya.
Comment by Shinta — September 29, 2008 @ 12:08 pm
Selamat idul fitri mbak.. maaf lahir & bathin ya. sekalian minta ridho-nya, aku suka ngintip2 di blog ini
Comment by Ana — September 30, 2008 @ 2:18 am
Sama-sama Mbak Riana. Eid Mubarak to you and your lovely family. Taqoballahu minna wa minkum. May Allah SWT accepts our ibaadah during this lovely Ramadhaan, and may He give us another chance to be in another Ramadan again next year. Allahumma Amin.!
*mau… cookiesnya.. saya yang belum bikin kue apa-apa… paling mungkin apple pie..nanti sore..*
Comment by Lisa — September 30, 2008 @ 9:37 pm
Slamat Idul fitri ya Ri
Comment by Rico — January 20, 2009 @ 5:41 am
lovely coconut cookies, excellent photos, mouth watering. saw you on blogged
Comment by Denay — April 24, 2009 @ 2:05 am
I love these Coconut cookies. I used them cut in half around a 3.5 oz glass ramekin, 6 to be exact. Stood the half cookies up along the side of the ramekin, filled the ramekin with lemon curd and topped the curd with slightly sweetened whip cream. The dish was not only beautiful but the cookies added the right crunch…next time I’m using a key lime filling. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.