Coconut cookies recipe

These sweet and soft cookies are the perfect afternoon treat - plus they're gluten-free.

Our coconut cookies are a little like macaroons, but with slightly more bite and crunch. Packed with the sweetness of the desiccated coconut, they are utterly more-ish. And for a little flourish, each one is topped with a sweet glacé cherry. This recipe makes 16 biscuits. Because they're pretty quick to make - only 15 minutes to prepare and about the same to bake, they make a great option to take to bake sales. You can easily double to quantities if you need more, and sell them individually or packaged in bags or 2-3. If you're cooking in batches, put the dough in the fridge until you're ready to bake it.

Ingredients

• 60g (2oz) butter, softened
• 125g (4oz) caster sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 75g (2½ oz) desiccated coconut
• 150g (5oz) gluten-free plain flour
• 8 glacé cherries, halved

Method

1. Set the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Line a baking sheet (or two) with non-stick liner or baking parchment.
2. Tip the butter and sugar into a bowl and beat them together until smooth. Add the beaten egg. Reserve 2 rounded tablespoons of coconut and add the rest to the creamed mixture and then the flour. Mix all the ingredients together to give a smooth, firm-ish dough.
3. Divide the dough into 16 pieces and roll each piece into a ball and then roll them in the reserved coconut. Flatten the balls to about 4-5cm (1½-2in) in diameter and place them on the baking sheet. Press half a glacé cherry on top of each biscuit.
4. Bake the biscuits in the centre of the oven for 15-18 mins, or until they are a light-golden colour.
5. Remove the cookies from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes, and then slide them on to a wire rack to cool completely.

Top tips for making coconut cookies

We used Doves Farm gluten-free plain and self-raising flours, available from most supermarkets and specialist health food shops.

The cookies spread slightly during cooking, so don't place them too close together on the baking tray.

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