Toasted Coconut + Raspberry Linzer Cookies

Crisp golden coconut cookies sandwiched with tart raspberry jam.

Ingredients:

• 9 tablespoons (125 grams) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup (150 grams) caster/superfine sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (50 grams) fine shred unsweetened desiccated coconut
• 2 cups (280 grams) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• about half a cup of raspberry jam, for filling

– If using metric cups, reduce volume measures by 1 tablespoon for every cup of dry or liquid ingredients – 

Equipment:

• Small non-stick frying pan
• Standing or hand-held electric mixer
• baking sheets lined with baking paper
• 2 inch round or fluted cookie cutter plus very small cutters

Directions:

First we need to toast our coconut. Pop it into a small non-stick pan and put it over a low heat. Stir the coconut all the time and watch it carefully. It won’t do anything for a while. Do not turn up the heat. All of a sudden it will start to brown. Keep stirring and when it’s mostly golden take it off the heat and tip the coconut into a cold bowl to stop it cooking too much.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg, coconut extract and vanilla extract and beat until well combined.

Add the coconut and mix through. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until an even dough forms.

Tip the dough out onto the bench and bring together into a disc. Wrap the dough and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

Heat the oven to 180C (350F). Line baking sheets with baking paper.

Divide the dough in half and roll out one half. It’s just a more manageable size this way. You want the dough to be about 3mm thick. Using a 2 inch round cutter cut out as many circles as you can.

Repeat with the other half of the dough. Gather together the scraps of both halves and roll out one more time. Cut out as many more cookies as you can. I have a three-roll maximum to prevent cookies getting tough so you can roll the scraps out one more time if you want to get every last cookie.

Work out how many circles you have. Set half of them onto cookie sheets.

Use a small shaped cutter to cut a little hole in the middle of the other half of the circles. You need even numbers of plain and fancy circles.

Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes until pale golden. Rotate the trays halfway through baking.

Transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely before filling.

You can strain the raspberry jam if you want to get rid of the seeds but it’s not essential. Spoon or pipe a small amount of jam onto the base of all the plain circles.

Sandwich with fancy tops. Dust with a little icing sugar if you like that sort of thing. Which we do.

Cook’s Notes:

• You can strain the jam to remove seeds if you like but it’s not essential.
• If you don’t have raspberry jam on hand, any other fine textured red jam is fine – just nothing with lumps or the cookies won’t sandwich.
• Let the cookies get nice and golden to deepen the butter and coconut flavours.

 – Unfilled these cookies will keep for up to two weeks in an airtight container. Once filled the cookies will soften a bit and should be eaten within 3 to 4 days – 

Adapted from Festive Baking by Sarah Kelly Iaia.

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