Brazilian Coconut Cookies - Sequilhos de Coco

 

These Brazilian coconut cookies are very simple, but you'll fimd yourself reaching for a second one. They are made with cornstarch as well as flour, which gives them a melt-in-your-mouth, shortbread-like texture, and they have a buttery, toasted coconut taste. Use unsweetened, dried, shredded coconut for these cookies, which you can find at natural food stores.

There are many Brazilian desserts that have corn as a primary ingredient, interestingly, such as the sweet corn pudding called curau de milho verde, and bola de cuba, a sweet cornmeal cake.

 

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon coconut flavoring/extract
• 1/4 cup cream of coconut
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup dry shredded coconut (unsweetened) (available at natural food stores)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes

• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: About 40 small cookies.
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Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Cream the softened butter with the sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg and mix well. Add the vanilla extract, coconut flavoring, and cream of coconut and mix well.
   
3. With the mixer on very low speed, add the cornstarch and mix until incorporated. Add the shredded coconut and 1 cup of all purposed flour and mix until you have a very smooth dough. Add the remaining flour a couple of tablespoons at a time, until you can handle the dough without it sticking to your fingers The dough should not crumbly, but able to come together in a smooth ball). Let the dough rest, covered with plastic wrap, for about 30 minutes.
   

1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take a small piece of dough (about the size of a large marble) and roll it in between your hands until you have a smooth ball. Repeat with remaining dough. Place the balls of dough on the cookie sheet, about an inch apart. Press down gently on each ball with the tines of a fork.
   
2. Bake cookies for about 15 minutes, until they are puffed and slightly cracked, and just starting to turn golden brown around the edges. Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet.
   
3. Store cookies in an airtight container. 

By Marian Blazes

South American Food Expert