Lemon Coconut Almond Shortbread
Treats Coming! That’s what I text Claire once I send a package in the mail to her. I’ve been sending her homemade surprises since she started college. It’s a silly old fashioned thing to do, but it’s a mom thing, and being a mom who loves to bake, it’s the kind of mom thing I do.
When she first started school I tried all kinds of things, muffins, biscuits, cupcakes, in addition to cookies and candy. I tried many different styles of packaging to see if the treats would get there unscathed, and after years of Claire opening packages of crumbled smashed baked goods I have decided cookies and candy travel best. Hearty cookies make the best travelers, dense like shortbread, either prepared as a drop cookie, of if rolled and cut (into hearts for Valentines Day) roll them thick, at least 1/4 inch. If mailing classics like chocolate chip and peanut butter I choose recipes that are more on the cake side than the crispy buttery side. As delicious as crisp and buttery cookies are, they crumble easily. I’ve become quite fond of the small flat rate priority mailing box. It holds around a dozen cookies snug so they don’t roll around in the box and crumble, and priority mail typically arrives in three days so the cookies are still on the fresh side. Probably more than you ever wanted to know about mailing cookies!
This recipe meets all the criteria, I love these cookies! What’s not to love with a combination of butter, lemon, coconut, and almonds?
Recipe:
1 pound butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons lemon extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 tablespoons sparkling sugar (large granulated decorative sugar) optional
Heat the oven to 350°. Line two cookie sheets with parchment.
Place all the ingredients except the sparkling sugar in a medium size bowl in the order listed.
Using your hands, work the mixture until you get a soft dough. makes it easier to mix in the dry ingredients without crushing the coconut and almonds too much. If you really don’t like mixing by hand, you can use the paddle attachment to a mixer to combine, but don’t over mix the dough because then the coconut and almonds will break down too much.
Using a 1-ounce scoop, scoop the dough onto a parchment lined cookie sheet, they won’t spread much so you can place them fairly close together.
Once the cookies have been scooped, flatten them with your palm and sprinkle the cookies with the decorative sugar. If you don’t have decorative sugar you can either use granulated sugar, or omit it entirely.
Place in the oven and bake for 16-18 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Cool completely before packing to ship.
Makes about 30 cookies
