Snowflake Coconut Bunting Cookies (Day 8)

Sugar cookie buntings flavored with coconut and rolled in some desiccated coconut for extra coconut flavor and crunch, hung on your Christmas tree or gifted to your loved ones.

Welcome to day 8 of my 12 Days Of Christmas Cookie Series. We are keeping things tropical but very festive with my snowflake coconut bunting cookies. The dough is flavored with coconut extract and rolled in desiccated coconut before cutting into snowflake shapes and baking. These cookies have an extra crunch because of the desiccated coconut. I like decorating them with royal icing and more desiccated coconut. Find my royal icing recipe linked here.

What ingredients do we need to make these Snowflake Coconut Bunting Cookies?

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 coconut extract and we mix together.

Coconut extract –

It is the best option in this recipe. If you are using coconut essence make sure its a brand you like as I personally have not been a fan of essence. You can also use coconut syrup to flavor the dough. I have tried using almond extract here and it works well too but nothing beats coconut extract.

Desiccated coconut –

You cannot skip this ingredient and there is not substitute. You cannot use fresh coconut as there is too much moisture, sweetened shredded coconut will also not work as it will burn as you bake it, hence buy some desiccated coconut if you don’t have any before making this recipe. Here is link for the desiccated coconut I use.

Royal Icing (optional) –

I have used royal icing to decorate the Cookies and I think they make the cookies even more festive. You can find my recipe linked here. You can decorate them as you like and get creative, add more desiccated coconut on the icing before it sets for a snow effect.

What equipment do we need to make these Snowflake Coconut Bunting Cookies?

To mix the cookie dough together we need a bowl and spatula, the dough is rolled in cling wrap hence we need a rolling pin too. A snowflake cookie cutter and a baking tray lined with baking paper to bake them. We need a small nozzle or cake tester to create the little holes that will turn these cookies into buntings.

How to make these Snowflake Coconut Bunting Cookies?

Preheat the oven to 170℃ and line your baking tray with baking paper. We start by crumbling our cookie dough into a bowl and mixing the coconut extract into it with a rubber spatula. If the dough is seeming too soft (would happen if your kitchen is very hot or where you live it is hot), wrap the dough in cling film and chill it for a few minutes. Roll out the cookie dough between two sheets of cling film, remove the cling film, sprinkle over the desiccated coconut and roll over the cookie dough once more. To ensure the coconut is in the dough. I like my cookies not to thick and not to thin, hence a little thinner than 1/4 inch is good. Cut out the cookies and transfer to the baking tray. They won’t spread much hence you can pack the tray. Using a cake tester, nozzle or knife, make tiny holes in each cookie as we will be hanging these later and we need these holes in order to put a string through them. Bake at 170℃ for 81-0 mins until golden. Let them cool completely before icing.

You can ice the cookies as you like and add more coconut on top while the icing is still wet. Add some glitter or sprinkles to make it even more festive. Tie string through the hole and your buntings are ready! Hang them on the tree or send them as edible gifts to your family and friends over the holidays.

How to store these Snowflake Coconut Bunting Cookies?

Once they are baked they store well in an air tight container for 10 days but if you ice them with royal icing they last for upto 2 weeks in an air tight container. I wouldn’t recommend storing them in the freezer, they thaw out soft. These cookies are meant to have a snap. If you are going to eat them they will look good and last well on your tree all through December.

Pro Tips for the perfect Snowflake Coconut Bunting Cookies

Cookie dough –

The cookie dough must be fridge cold before you crumble and mix in the coconut extract. If the dough feels greasy or too soft, chilling the dough is essential – or else you won’t get clean edges when you cut out the dough.

Rolling the dough –

Generously sprinkle over the desiccated coconut over the dough and roll over quite firmly to ensure the coconut is embedded into the dough before cutting and baking. It must be a little thinner than 1/4 inch in thickness – this is the perfect size in my opinion.

From cookie to bunting –

These cookies are turned into buntings by making small holes on each cookie allowing you to run a string through to hang on your tree later. This must be done BEFORE baking, you cannot make the hole once they cookies are baked.

Now that we have covered how to make these Snowflake Coconut Bunting Cookies, 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.