Crunchy Coconut Sesame Cookies

The holiday season is coming soon (too soon). I always correlate the holiday season to cookies because we made a tradition of baking tons of cookies to pass out to friends, teachers, and neighbors every year. As the boys grew, we made several changes and baked quick breads, granola, and so on each year. But cookies still are my favorite and I love packing the cookie tins with several different flavors. My favorite to pack for the cookie tin and the regular every year are the old-fashioned ginger cookies, Mexican snowball cookies, Danish butter cookies, and Christmas fruit cookies. My younger one wanted me to make some different flavors this year to swap a couple of the cookies; that is how I am making this list for my new set of cookies. I decided we needed coconut-flavored cookies for the list and was going back and forth between the coconut macaroons and the coconut sesame cookies.

Why bake these cookies?

This coconut sesame cookie is one of my oldest cookie recipes. I love how crunchy these cookies are and they remind me of Indian bakery-style cookies. When first baking them, I was intimidated by the sesame seeds in the cookie and used quite a little of it. Once we tasted the flavors, I realized that this cookie needs more of the sesame seeds and it works beautifully along with the coconut in the recipe. These crunchy coconut cookies are eggless. It is not vegan, but for people who don’t eat eggs or have egg allergies, these cookies are perfect. We don’t need any fancy gadgets to make these coconut cookies. I used my hand mixer to whip the butter and sugar together. I have used just a simple kitchen whisk and it does the job well. When I am making bigger batches of these cookies, I use my stand mixer. And if you are looking for a crunchy and crispy cookie recipe, this is the one! Love how each bite is uniformly crunchy.

What kind of coconut to use in the cookies?

I have made these crunchy coconut cookies with desiccated coconut that I buy from Indian stores. I felt that the sweetness was a little less. So. if you prefer less sweet cookies, use the desiccated unsweetened coconut. Lately, I have been using the sweetened coconut flakes and I love those. They are much more moist when compared to the desiccated coconut and that adds more flavor. You could also use the unsweetened coconut flakes and they work great as well. If using freshly grated coconut, toast it a bit to dry it out and then use in the cookies.

Ingredients needed

Check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements and printable detailed recipes.

Flour - We need all-purpose flour as the base of the cookies.

Coconut - I have used sweetened coconut flakes in the recipe. Check the paragraph above to see what kind of coconut to use.

Sesame seeds - I have used brown sesame seeds. We could use the white sesame as well. I have not yet made these cookies with black sesame seeds, but they would work as well.

Butter - I have used unsalted butter. Salted butter will work as well. Make sure that the butter is soft. We don’t need it melted.

Sugar - I have used white granulated sugar. Brown sugar will work in the cookies but the cookies might be a little softer.

Vanilla extract

Baking soda and baking powder - This recipe has both of them.

Milk - We will use just a little milk to bring the cookie dough together. We can use regular milk or almond milk.

Step-by-step process

In a pan, roast the sesame seeds until they crackle and turn light brown and aromatic. Do not roast it too long as they will bake further in the oven.

Add the flour, baking soda, and baking powder to a bowl and whisk it to combine or sieve.

Add the softened butter and sugar in a wide bowl and cream it (1). If making a larger batch, a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment is very convenient. I used my hand mixer to beat them well until the mixture turned pale and light (2).

Add the vanilla extract (3) and whisk it well again.

Add the dry ingredients and mix gently to combine. I added my flour mixture in 3 batches and used my hand mixer to combine. You could also use a wooden spoon or a spatula to combine (4).

Now add the coconut and toasted sesame (5 & 6) and mix. I used my hands to combine everything.

If the dough appears crumbly (7), add milk, one tablespoon at a time until the dough comes together (8).

Divide the dough in half and roll it into a log. Wrap the log in a plastic wrap tightly (9 & 10).

Refrigerate the coconut cookie dough logs for at least 2 hours. You could make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate overnight as well.

Baking the cookies

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicon baking mats.

Slice the chilled cookie dough into ¼-inch thick slices and place it on the prepared baking sheet (11 & 12).

Bake in a preheated oven for 12 -14 minutes or until golden brown around the edges (13).

Remove the baked cookies from the oven and let them sit on the baking sheet for a minute (14).

Then transfer the coconut sesame cookies onto wire racks to cool completely.

How to store cookies?

Let the cookies cool to room temperature. Cool them on a wire rack so the bottom of the cookies don’t become soggy. Once the cookies have cooled down completely, store them in an airtight container. I like using glass jars with screw-top lids or cookie jars. I also cover the cookies with a piece of parchment. At this stage, the cookies can also be packed in cookie tins to pack for distribution or mailing. These coconut sesame cookies are very crunchy and they hold well for shipping. These are my favorite choices to make for the holidays along with pecan shortbread cookies, Nan khatai, and vanillekipferl. This coconut and sesame cookie dough can be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen for use later. If making cookies in a couple of days, the cookie dough log can be kept refrigerated. If making the cookies later, the dough rolls can be frozen for up to 3 months. Just thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and then slice and bake the cookies.

Expert Tips

This recipe for the coconut cookies can easily be doubled. I would suggest using a stand mixer to make the cookie dough when making a larger batch. Add milk carefully when making the cookie dough. The dough has to be stiff yet easy to handle and roll into a log. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least a couple of hours. This allows us to slice the cookies in even sizes easily. This cookie dough can be made ahead of time and frozen to slice and bake anytime.

Frequently asked questions

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