Toasted Coconut Rum Shortbread Cookies

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and didn't do too much damage!  I had a house full of guests, which included overnight guests most of the weekend.   Made for a fun, but VERY BUSY holiday weekend for me.  Yesterday was all about cleaning up...the house and my diet!  So it goes....

Which might make you wonder why on earth I would be posting another decadent cookie recipe.  Well, the answer is, now that Thanksgiving is over, the heart of the baking season has arrived.  This variation of the Lemon Coconut Snowball Cookie was just too good not to share.  Don't worry, despite the name, there is no actual rum in it....just the flavoring.  But the combo of the rum flavor and the toasted coconut are a hit!  And remember how I mentioned how much I like working with this dough?  Yup...this one is a keeper for sure.

Once again, I am not going to supply any nutritional stats.  You can refer to the original posting of the Lemon Coconut Snowball Cookies to see that, as this variation would be very close.  You will find the info in the comments section at the bottom of the page, if you are interested.

This recipe starts off with whizzing some sweetened coconut in the food processor to make it into smaller strands.    ( so it fits on the top of the cookie a little better)    Then lightly toasting it.  You can do this by spreading your processed coconut onto a baking sheet and popping it into the oven and stirring every now and then, until it is a light golden brown.  I did this in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes.  The coconut is not going to bake again, so just toast it to the degree of brown you desire.

Once the rum flavored shortbread cookie ball is baked and cooled, it  is then frosted with some rum flavored frosting and then finished with the toasted coconut.  So festive!

Toasted Coconut Rum Shortbread Cookies

adapted from Lemon Coconut Snowball Cookies

Printable Recipe

Yield:  approx. 2 1/2 doz. cookies

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar, which has been pulsed in the food processor for about 20 seconds

1/4 tsp. salt

16 TBS. unsalted butter ( 2 sticks), cut into 16 1/2 inch pcs at cool room temperature

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tsp. rum flavoring

2 TBS. ( 1 oz)  cream cheese, at room temperature ( I used reduced fat) 

For frosting and topping:

1 TBS. ( 1/2 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature  ( I used reduced fat)

1 tsp. rum flavoring or vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

1 - 2 TBS. milk ( enough to thin frosting out to spread easily ) 

1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, pulsed in food processor, toasted in oven, and cooled

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle beater, mix flour, sugar and slat on low speed until combined.  With mixer running on low, drop in the butter one piece at a time slowly; and continue to mix until the mixture looks slightly wet and crumbly.  Add in the vanilla, rum flavor and the cream cheese and mix on low until he dough just comes together...and it will...like magic! 

2.  With hands, roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  ( or one that has been sprayed with cooking spray, but I prefer parchment for my cooking baking)   Bake once batch at a time in oven until lightly browned, about 12 minutes.  Remove to wire rack and allow to cool to room temperature. 

3.  In the same bowl as the cookie dough was made, with the paddle attachment, mix the cream cheese until smooth.  Add in the confectioners sugar and choice of flavoring.  Slowly add milk to achieve a good spreading consistency.  

4.  Dip tops of cookies into frosting, or spread with a knife, and top with some toasted coconut.  Allow frosting to set before storing.  These cookies freeze well.  

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I will be honest with you....I expect to be very busy the next couple of weeks leading up to Christmas with a big project I am involved with.  I am not certain how many recipes I will be able to publish, but will try my best to make it here and get one up at least once a week.  Once my life frees up a bit, I will be able to devote more time to this blog once again!