These coconut pecan cookies are perfectly crispy and chewy at the same time. Packed with toasted coconut and crunchy pecans, they're the perfect, quick treat.
I must admit, I used to think that a cookie without chocolate chips was not a cookie at all. That was until I made my Brown Butter Pecan Cookies, and everything changed. Since then I've been on a cookie conquest to make all kinds of delicious cookie recipes, such as my Pumpkin Cheesecake cookies. The latest experiment was this coconut pecan cookie recipe, and it did not disappoint! I got the inspiration from the frosting that goes onto a traditional german chocolate cake.
These delicious cookies are a texture and flavor masterpiece, someone being both crispy and chewy simultaneously, and delivering a bouquet of flavors in every bite - sweet, salty, nutty, and buttery. On top of all this, they are incredibly quick and easy to make so can be whipped up effortlessly on a cold winter morning.
Why You'll Love These Cookies
- These coconut cookies taste like a coconut macaroon but with extra crunch and flavor from the pecans - the perfect sweet treat for this time of year.
- Super quick and easy to make with basic ingredients.
- One batch makes 24 cookies, which is plenty to go around!
Ingredients
- Butter - We will be adding salt to the cookie dough so I recommend using unsalted butter. Make sure the butter is at room temperature before beginning.
- White Sugar - This cookie recipe uses two types of sugar, the first is regular white sugar, make sure it is extra-fine (caster sugar in the UK).
- Brown Sugar - You can use either light brown sugar or dark brown sugar for these cookies. I used light brown sugar, but for a stronger molasses taste, you can use dark brown.
- Eggs - Always use large, and try to use free-range eggs if you can. Make sure the eggs are also at room temperature before beginning.
- Vanilla - The vanilla really rounds out the base flavor of the cookies. Use a high-quality vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste.
- Flour - It's best to use all-purpose flour for these cookies (plain flour in the UK)
- Coconut - I used desiccated coconut (the finely grated stuff). But if you would like a chunkier cookie, you can use shredded coconut instead.
- Pecans - We'll be chopping the pecans up, so you don't need whole pecan halves for this recipe. It can be nice to save a few whole pecans for the top of the cookies though.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Start by preheating your oven to 350°F / 180°C and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. I like to use two cookie sheets as you'll need to bake these cookies in multiple batches, and this way you can rotate one sheet in the oven while the other is cooling.
- Cream butter, white sugar, and brown sugar together in a mixing bowl. You can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or an electric mixer, or you can just do this by hand with a wooden spoon. You don't want to overbeat the butter and sugars, just enough so they are creamed together and slightly fluffy.
- Add the eggs and vanilla and beat those in too until incorporated.
- In a separate, large bowl, combine flour with the other dry ingredients, including the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the batter and mix together until a soft dough forms.
- Add the coconut and chopped pecans and mix them in until evenly distributed. The pecans should be chopped roughly and not too fine, as we want nice big chunks of pecan in the cookies.
- Take one tablespoon of cookie dough and quickly roll it into a ball in your hands. You could use an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop for this, but make sure it's not a large cookie scoop as if you make the cookies too big then they will overbake on the outside before the center is baked.
- Roll the top of each cookie dough ball in coconut - this is going to add some amazing texture to the top of the cookies.
- Place the rolled cookie dough balls onto the prepared baking sheet and then press a pecan half or some bits of broken pecan into the top of each one. Make sure the cookies are well-spaced as they are going to spread significantly in the oven. I usually manage to fit about 6 cookies on one large sheet tray.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the outside of the cookies are lovely and brown. (They will be a little darker than golden brown because of the lovely toasted coconut). The center of the cookies may look like they are not quite done yet, but that's okay as they are going to continue to bake on the hot baking sheet.
- Let your coconut pecan cookies sit on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. This will allow them to firm up a little and bake completely in the middle. The cookies may still be fragile, so I like to use a cookie lifter to transfer them to the wire rack and avoid any breakage.
Note: I always recommend using a kitchen scale rather than a measuring cup to measure your ingredients, but my recipe card does provide quantities for both units of measurement.
Variations
While the original recipe makes a really good cookie, there are so many ways you can add to it to make many more delicious combinations.
Chocolate - If you want to carry on the Christmas 'coconut macaroon' vibe, try dipping or drizzling your coconut pecan cookies in some dark chocolate.
Spices - For some extra warmth, try adding ½ teaspoon each of cinnamon and ginger to the cookie dough for an extra 'cold weather' kick.
Oats - These cookies are also really delicious as an oatmeal cookie. Just add 1 cup of oats in at the same time as the coconut and pecans to make a more hearty cookie.
Storage
Store your coconut pecan cookies in an airtight container on top of some paper towels to soak up any moisture. They also fair very well in a traditional cookie jar, which lets just enough air in to stop them from going soggy. The cookies will be good in either container for up to a week.
Summary
This coconut pecan cookies recipe is sure to be a hit! With the wonderful chewy texture and delicious range of flavors, it's bound to be a new favorite cookie recipe in your house, as it is in mine. So grab yourself a cup of coffee or a cold glass of milk and fill up a plate with a couple of coconut pecan cookies (don't kid yourself into thinking you'll just have one). Enjoy!
Top tip
To get perfectly round cookies, use a circle cookie cutter to gently 'scoot' around the edges of the cookies when they have just come out of the oven and make them a perfect circle shape.
Recipe
Coconut Pecan Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter 227g
- ¾ cup White Sugar 150g
- ¾ cup Light Brown Sugar 165g
- 2 Eggs
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 1 ½ cups All-purpose Flour 180g
- ½ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Desiccated Coconut 80g (plus extra for decorating)
- 1 cup Pecans 125g (chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. *
- Cream together the butter and both sugars. Don't overbeat it, just enough so it is well combined and slightly fluffy.1 cup Butter, ¾ cup White Sugar, ¾ cup Light Brown Sugar
- Add the eggs and vanilla and beat them in too.2 Eggs, 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix them in until a dough forms.1 ½ cups All-purpose Flour, ½ teaspoon Baking Powder, ½ teaspoon Baking Soda, ½ teaspoon Salt
- Pour in the coconut and chopped pecans and mix them in until evenly distributed.1 cup Desiccated Coconut, 1 cup Pecans
- Take 1 tablespoon sized portions of dough and roll them quickly in your hands to form a ball. Roll the top of the ball in coconut and then press some pieces of pecan into the top. Place on the baking sheet, well spaced out as the cookies will spread.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the outside of the cookies look browned and crispy. The middle may still look slightly underbaked, that's okay as it will continue to bake on the cookie sheet.
- Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack.
Chris Radwanski
The coconut incorporated into this makes it soft like a macaroon while still having a solid structure and a crunchy edge. For me, that is a winning combination. Anything with coconut really is a winner. Outstanding cookies!
Willie Bristol
Want to make diabetic friendly
Liz
You might try using the granular monkfruit sweetener. It is good for baking, and is a 1:1 substitute for sugar. There are brown sugar subs too. The only drawback is that granular monkfruit sweetener can be expensive. It's around $7 a bag. I am also diabetic, and the monkfruit sweetener is my favorite. No aftertaste, and sweetens like sugar. Hope that helps!
Lillie m Barnes
Chris thoses Coconut Pecan look Soo Delicious do u do Orders
Anne garforth
Where are you situated please
Lillie Barnes
Augusta Ga 30919
Jules
Unfortunately I don't sell any baked goods, I just make recipes and publish them online for people to make at home - sorry!
Michele
Mine spread out all over the sheet losing all form. What do you think I did wrong? But still taste like Heaven
Erh
Add walnuts with the pecans. I love that taste combo. Try it you'll like it. I ate a praline with both nuts in Texas. Delicious taste.
Jules
I love that idea! Will definitely try them with walnuts next time!
Willie Bristol
Want to make diabetic friendly
DoxieLover
Hi,
There's numerous ways to accomplish this but unsweetened organic shredded coconut and replace sugar with anything ranging from agave, stevia or coconut sugar and perhaps a little honey would be great! Then, substituting regular white flour with gluten free you can purchase online (better pricing IMHO) if you so desire.
Jules
Thank you for answering that! Couldn't have said it better myself 🙂
Elonda
Do you have a bakery where we could order some of your gorgeous delicious finished products? If not. Why not? I'm not sure how we could coordinate this, but would anyone volunteer to make me cookies? I live in Chicago area. I obviously would pay you. I am disabled. Can't bake anymore. I haven't had homemade chocolate chip cookies for years. And I would like to try those coconut pecan cookies too. But I would ask you to add some walnuts. I can dream can't I? Dreaming of homemade cookies.
Jules
HI Elonda,
Thank you for your lovely message. I actually used to run a bakery in Scotland for 10 years until I moved to Canada. I'm sorry I don't live nearer to Chicago, I'd have loved to bring you some cookies. I hope you find someone to bake you some!
All the best,
Jules
Kathy Tate-Bradish
Hi Elonda,
I live in the Chicago area. Email me and I would be delighted to bring you some homemade cookies in the next few weeks. I hope you check back here. Kathy [email protected]
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Thank you for sharing this recipe. These cookies look AMAZING. Can't wait to make them. Will substitute with toasted almonds. LOVE the way you include the ingredient amounts in the instructions so we don't have to keep scrolling up to see how much of each to add. Really like the way you categorize your other recipes. Tiramisu cake will be next after these yummy cookies!
Jules
Thank you so much for your kind words, I'm really happy to hear you like the recipe! I was always frustrated with having to scroll to find ingredients on recipes, so I'm glad someobody else appreciates this! 😀 Happy baking!
Debbie
Couple pulses?Could you just use flaked coconut and put it in the food processor for a
Jules
HI Debbie,
Yes absolutely, this would work just as well 🙂
Tony
I see you have listed Trans Fat: 0.3g, would that be from the butter?
Brenda
These cookies are so wonderful. I did not have the desiccated coconut, so I had to use the regular Baker's Sweet coconut. I toasted the coconut and pecans a little and allowed them to cool before adding. I always double my vanilla. I did not add the pecan on top but there were plenty in the batter. My husband and church friends loved them.
I just read the Brown Butter Cookie recipe. That one will be next!
Thank you for these recipes.
Treda Robinson
Is the desiccated coconut sweetened or unsweetened?
Tim “0”
Happy Summer, This Recipe is “SO-EASY-TO-FOLLOW”….My Wife “Nailed” It & Everyone Truly Enjoyed them, from Start-To-Finish!!! The Combo of PECAN & COCONUT is definitely a Love Match for the Ages!! If You want to Steal The Show @ “any” Party/Gathering….Please make this Very simple recipe!!! Thank you for sharing & I Highly recommend this 1 “For Real!!!
Jules
Thank you so much for your lovely comment Tim, I really appreciate it! It makes me so happy to hear of people trying and enjoying my recipes. I'm glad you all enjoyed the cookies! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂
Jules