He's not your typical Gingerbread man!

No plans on a Friday night and not wanting to sleep yet, I decided to bake something. The usual suspect to go to is Joy the Baker. Browsing through her recipe index, I decided to bake 'Crispy Toasted Coconut Cookies'.

Crispy Toasted Coconut Cookies

Recipe (adapted from Joy The Baker)

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

2 cups plain flour 

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3/4 cup of unsalted butter

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

The recipe asked for salt and almond extract, but I omitted both of them.

Methods:

Preheat oven to 150 C.

Spread coconut on a baking sheet and bake for about 5-8 minutes, stirring once, until the coconut becomes evenly golden. (Keep an eye on the coconut because they darkens quickly). Set aside to cool and increase oven's temperature to 180 C.

Combine flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and brown sugar until fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until blended. On low speed, add the flour mixture and mix until incorporated. Add the toasted coconut and stir with a wooden spoon.

Divide the dough into 2-3 portions and roll one portion into a flat triangle between two baking sheets until about 3-4 mm thickness. 

Remove the top baking sheet and use a cookie cutter to make cookies. 

Mine is the Gingerbread man cutter!

Remove the extra bits off and transfer the baking sheet with the cookie dough to a baking tray and bake until the edges and bottoms are lightly browned, about 10-12 minutes. (Have to adjust time according to your oven's temperament!)

That was my first try after rolling and removing the extra bits off. Bad idea to use a gingerbread man cutter, you can see how the outline is so uneven....

So, for my second portion, I rolled them and put them in the freezer for a few minutes so the dough will be harder and look at the results: Way better!

Comparison between the first and second batch:

Top: First batch
Bottom: Second batch

I think it's the oven's fault that some cookies were burnt, maybe due to the uneven heat circulation ... I got a tiny oven...

The verdict:

• easy recipe
• sweetness is just right
• good flavour (reminded me of the flavour of Kuih Kapit actually)

*Kuih Kapit is a type of Nyonya and Malay food also known as 'Love Letters'; usually served during Chinese New Year.