Cashew Coconut Bites (Day 6)

Name: Cashew Coconut Bites (Day 6)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 min
Ingredients: 1 Vanilla spiced cookie dough recipe; 1/4 cup Cashews (toasted & finely chopped); 2 tbsp Desiccated coconut (lightly toasted); 1/2 cup Icing sugar

Little cashew cloud like cookies that are crumbly, nutty, coconuty and sugary. They are rolled into balls, baked and dunked in icing sugar for that snowball effect.

Welcome to day 6 of my 12 Days Of Christmas Cookie Series. We are keeping things quick and easy with these nutty and crumbly Cashew coconut bites. If there was one cookie that had a nostalgic tug on my heart, these Cashew coconut bites would be just that. They remind me of the cash snowball cookies, recipe is linked here but I will go one step further and say these are better or lets just say they are an upgrade. The coconut not only adds flavor but create a balance between chewy and crumbly in every bite. I say these are better as they are simpler to make which automatically makes them more delicious in my mind.

The reason these cookie have a special place in my box this year is because we make cashew snowball cookies every year and and it is sort of a tradition. We started making these cookies at home every year because of mum, she absolutely loved these peanut snowball cookies that she tried at some friends place and came home raving about it. So I decided to surprise her for christmas with a box of them but made with cashew nuts cause they are her favorite nut. This was almost 10 years ago,

What ingredients do we need to make these Cashew Coconut Bites?

Cookies –

The cookie dough used to make this recipe is my no fuss Vanilla Spiced Sugar Cookie, it was the foundation recipe for day 1 of my 12 Days Of Christmas Cookie Recipes. To the dough I add finely chopped cashews (which I like to toast lightly, let them cool down and then use them. There is so much more flavor) and desiccated coconut (I lightly toast this as well as I don’t want any color on the coconut just release their oils.)

Let me quickly touch on substitutes here, if you don’t like cashew nuts or are allergic to them, use any nuts you like. I have made this recipe with peanuts, pecans, almonds and pistachios. However which ever nut you use, it will have an effect on the taste and over all appearance of the cookie once baked.

Icing sugar –

We need icing sugar to dunk the cookie dough balls into before baking and after it has baked. This gives them the snowball effect, you can use monk fruit sugar as well for this step to reduce the sugar intake. However you cannot skip this step.

What equipment do you need to make these Cashew Coconut Bites?

To mix the cookie dough together we need a bowl and spatula, you could just use your hands. We roll the dough balls between our palms anyway hence it is fine, just make sure they are washed, clean and dry before you get in there. A baking tray and baking paper would be needed as well.

How to make these Cashew Coconut Bites?

We start by crumbling the prepared cookie dough into a bowl, add the finely chopped cashew nuts, desiccated coconut and using your hands/rubber spatula mix the dough together until the cashews and coconut are incorporated. Pinch the dough into little balls (ideally 10 gm = 2 tsp in weight) and portion it out. Roll each piece between your palms to get a round ball. Dunk the ball into the icing sugar and place on a lined baking tray. Bake in a preheated oven at 170℃ for 6-8 mins until the top looks dry and some cookies might have cracked a little. Let them cool completely before dunking in more icing sugar.

How to store these Cashew Coconut Bites?

The dough can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in the fridge for a couple of days. It can be stored in the freezer for a couple of weeks, when ready to use, thaw it and bake as directed. The dough can be rolled into balls and stored in the freezer for a couple of weeks (giving you a good head start on some festive cheer). When ready to use, thaw, dunk in icing sugar and bake as directed. Once the cookies are baked they store well in zip lock bags or air tight containers for 3-4 days. After which I feel they can get a little dry as the coconut will continue to soak the moisture and oils from the cookie and the cashews.

Pro Tips for the perfect Cashew Coconut Bites-

Cookie dough –

The cookie dough must be fridge cold before you crumble and mix in the cashews and coconut. This will ensure that it doesn’t become greasy as you roll our the dough later.

Rolling the dough –

The dough shouldn’t be sticky, however if it is sticking to your hand, do not add flour, let it cool down in the fridge and then continue rolling.

Cashew nuts & coconut –

The cashews must be lightly toasted BEFORE you finely chop them. I say this because that ensures they are evenly toasted and there are no burnt pieces. Also, they must be finely chopped as we don’t want large chunks of cashews while eating the cookie. The coconut must be lightly toasted as well or else you won’t really get the flavor while baking.

Baking the cookies –

Do not over bake these cookies as they will dry out and become chalky to eat. Make sure to under bake them and let them firm up while cooling down.

Now that we have covered how to make these Cashew Coconut Bites, you can have a look at the recipe video on my socials but let’s get to it. Don’t forget to follow along for more holiday baking recipe inspiration.

If you try this recipe out, don’t forget to share it with me on instagram so I can see how it turned out. I’d love nothing more than to chat with you on your cooking/baking.