Chewy Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies

I’m always on the look out for new things to bake which have an interesting combination of ingredients and was intrigued by a chewy coconut lime sugar cookie recipe that I found from the Cook’s Illustrated. Chewy cookies made with coconut, lime and cream cheese? – these are ingredients that I don’t normally see together in a cookie recipe so I had to give it a go to see what the resulting cookies would taste like.

I love my cookies soft and chewy, and I always underbake my cookies to ensure that they will have a chewy texture. These coconut and lime cookies have a great chewy texture due to the use of cream cheese and vegetable oil which provide a soft consistency that is light and not dense or heavy. I love the flavour combination of coconut and lime, it just makes you think of being on a tropical island under a coconut tree with a pina colada or margarita in hand. I think this is a great cookie to bake for the spring and summer months.


Ingredients (makes about 24 cookies)

(Adapted from Cook's Illustrated)

•    2 ¼ cups plain flour
•    ½ teaspoon baking soda
•    1 teaspoon baking powder
•    ½ cup sweetened shredded coconut 
•    ½ teaspoon salt
•    1 ½ cups caster sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling
•    ~60g cream cheese, cut into small pieces
•    1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
•    ~80g unsalted butter, melted and still warm
•    1/3 cup vegetable oil
•    1 large egg
•    1 tablespoon milk
•    1 tablespoon lime juice

Method

Preheat oven to 175C. Line baking sheets with greaseproof paper.

Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, coconut, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Place 1 ½ cups sugar, cream cheese, and grated lime zest in a large bowl. Place remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a shallow dish and set aside. 

Pour warm butter over sugar, lime and cream cheese and whisk to combine (some small lumps of cream cheese will remain but will smooth out later). 

Whisk in oil until incorporated. Add egg, milk, and lime juice, continue to whisk until smooth. 

Add flour mixture and mix with rubber spatula until a soft dough comes together. 

The final dough will be slightly softer than most cookie dough. For the best results, handle the dough as briefly as possible when shaping the cookies. Overworking the dough will result in flatter cookies. Using hands, roll about 2 tablespoons of the dough into balls and roll in the reserved sugar to coat. Place the balls about 4cm apart on baking sheet and flatten with fingers or bottom of a glass. 

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes until the edges are set and just beginning to brown, rotating the tray after 7 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.