Coconut Cookies with a hint of Lime

It’s been a long time since I posted a cookie recipe on my blog. Well, that’s because I rarely make cookies for myself. This doesn’t mean that I don’t bake cookies at all, my daughter’s cookie jar  never goes empty. She has to have some kind of chocolate cookie to snack on and she can even eat cookies for breakfast.

Over the weekend I was baking cookies to put in the Christmas goodie bags for my friends and staff. I thought it wouldn’t be wrong if I add some gluten free cookies in it. These delightfully simple cookies are filled with tons of texture from coconut flakes and oats, and subtly flavored with lime zest. When I made them earlier, I also added lime juice but this time I didn’t have any. All the lime juice was used up in making margaritas.

Coconut cookies are easy to make but sometimes they don’t turn out as great as you want them. By keeping the following few things in mind you can get your cookies just right, both crispy and chewy.

1. Make sure butter is at room temperature when you are making the cookie dough.
2. Cream the butter well with sugar before adding other ingredients. This will allow the ingredients to be added with just a little mixing. Too much beating makes the cookie stiff.
3.  Add coconut to the batter last and don’t stir it too long.
4. The dough needs to be refrigerated to get a crisp outside and chewy inside. If you prefer cookies thin and crisp, bake them straight from the mixing bowl.
5. Use heavy aluminum cookie sheets and line with parchment paper or silicon mat to prevent the cookies from getting overly brown.  When baking in batches, cool the cookie sheet to room temperature before placing more cookies on it to prevent the dough from melting.
6. For even baking scoop cookies of same size and slightly flatten them to prevent doming.
7. Unlike other cookies, you have to really watch these cookies because they begin to brown very fast. They should be baked only until the edges begin to brown, and  then broil for 1-2 minute for light golden top.
8.  They will be slightly soft when you remove them from the oven, but as they cool, the cookies will become crisp and chewy. Let the cookies cool on sheet for few minutes before transferring them to a rack for complete cooling.

Happy cookie baking!