#45. Festive Crispy Coconut Cherry Mounds

I like these cookies because they check so many boxes: crispy (yep!); fruity (yep!); buttery (yep!); moist (yep!); and (most importantly) seasonal color scheme (yep!).

The sweet creamy taste of the coconut well complements the slightly tangy cherry glaze, which adds soft textural contrast to the crunchy base.

You can use jam instead of pie filling, but I find the whole berries better suited to these cookies.

Ingredients

• 2 sticks butter

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 cup brown sugar 

• 1 egg

• 1 Tablespoon coconut extract

• 2 ¼ cups flour

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• green sprinkles

• cherry pie filling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar using a hand-held mixer.

3. Beat in egg and coconut extract. Set aside.

4. In a medium-size bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, as green sprinkles (the more, the greener your goodies!)

5. Gradually add dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredients until thoroughly combined.

6. Place spheres of dough evenly spaced on baking sheet.

7. Bake for 12-15 minutes until cookies are dark brown around the edges.

8. Cool completely. Top each cookie with 1 to 2 teaspoons of cherry pie filling.

#8. Peanut Butter Coconut Sandwich Cookies

It's so hard to say goodbye...to my giant roll of Pillsbury peanut butter cookie dough. But this day had to come because even processed dough has a shelf life. I was very pleased with how my PB S'mores Cookies turned out, and the classic Peanut Butter Blossoms failed to disappoint.

I knew I wanted to experiment with sandwich cookies for my final recipe and just slathering some grape or strawberry jelly in between two cookies was too lazy even for me. Some sort of sugar fruit pairing seemed appropriate, but I also wanted to test the potential compatibility of peanuts with coconut, which are infrequent bedfellows in the Western baking world. (South Asian savory fare: an entirely different story.)

And Jimmies, because, why not?

Ingredients

• 1/3  roll Pillsbury™ refrigerated peanut butter cookie dough

• 1/2 cup sprinkles

• 3/4 cup shredded coconut

• 3/4 cup (or so) cherry pie fillings

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Using a spatula, combine dough with sprinkles and shredded coconut.

3. Shape dough into an even number of balls. 

4. On ungreased cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, place balls 2 inches apart.

5. Bake 9-13 minutes until golden brown. COOL COMPLETELY.

6. Top underside of one cookie with approximately 1 Tablespoon of cherry pie filling. Top with another cookie to form sandwich.*

*If you can't handle this instruction, you probably should not be allowed to use an oven.

I found the coconut added a certain cream flavor that complemented the slightly tart cherries and balanced the strong peanut taste, akin to how that cool glass of milk pleasantly tempers a a thick peanut butter sandwich.  

In my Marvel movie, I am the Queen of the Universe and only my opinion matters. Barring the release of that film, I want to hear what you think. Honesty is welcome. Alternative facts are not.