Coconut Snowball Melting Moments are buttery little bites of coconut bliss ~ perfect for the holidays, or any day. These easy shortbread cookies literally melt in your mouth.
These are a variation on my mom’s traditional Melting Moments. I thought it would be fun to give them a coconut makeover. I love how they look like little snowballs, and they really do melt in your mouth. In fact, that’s why melting moments are made so small, if you try to bite into one, it will fall apart in your hands…best to pop them straight into your mouth whole.
As December rolls on, my recipes get simpler and simpler. We don’t have the luxury of a long stretch of days in front of us before Christmas anymore. It’s (gulp) next week. No worries, though, this is one you can whip up in your sleep, it’s an old fashioned drop cookie with no pretensions to being fancy or fussy. A variation of this cookie is always on our counter during Christmas week. Because they are small and rich, they work really well after dinner with coffee or brandy, but there isn’t a neighbor on the planet who’d turn down a paper plate full of these little guys, either, so you’re covered on all fronts.
I used coconut extract to bring out the coconut flavor in these cookies… I’m a big believer in how extracts can help flavors bloom. It’s kind of like using salt, you don’t know it’s there, but it makes everything pop. Pure coconut extract (not flavoring, which is artificial) can sometimes be hard to find, but I have a recipe for a Homemade Coconut Extract. You can always find it online, too.
coconut snowball melting moments notes
- These cookies freeze well, just be sure to wrap them well.
- As a variation you can leave the coconut out of the dough, for a smoother cookie.
- Try my Cappuccino Melting Moments for a variation with a hint of caffeine!
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Coconut Snowball Melting Moments
Ingredients
cookies
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tsp coconut extract, or vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
frosting
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1/2 tsp coconut extract
- milk or cream for thinning
- more shredded coconut for garnish
Instructions
- set oven to 350F
- To make the cookies, cream the butter and then beat in the extract, sugar, flour and cornstarch until everything is blended. Blend in the coconut.
- Form the dough into a ball or a disk and wrap with plastic. Refrigerate for an hour.
- Use a small 1″ cookie scoop to form balls of dough and place then on an ungreased cookie sheet, 1 inch apart. Bake for 14 minutes, or until the cookies are just starting to get a little brown around the bottom edge. Remove from the oven and let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Then gently transfer to a cooling rack. the cookies are delicate, so go easy on them.
- When the cookies are completely cool, dab a little bit of frosting on top of each one, and top with coconut.
- To make the frosting, cream the butter and then blend in the extract and the sugar, adding enough cream or milk to make a creamy spreadable frosting.
Thank you for responding, and now I see that the answer was there all along.. not sure how I missed that!
I made the cookies this evening and they are excellent. They turned out just like your pictures and they taste great! Im just wondering how long they keep at room temp or if they need to be refrigerated because of the milk in the frosting?
No you can store them at room temperature without any issues.
Apologies if I missed it somewhere, but how many cookies approximately does this make?
It’s about 34-36 cookies, Christina.
Success! I froze the unfrosted baked cookie. Today, I defrosted them on the counter, and topped them with the coconut frosting and shredded coconut. They are one of the best cookies I’ve ever had!! Freezing the unfrozen baked cookie did not change the melt in your mouth texture at all. They are divine!!! Thank you for sharing your delicious recipe!!
Thank you so much for your reply! I haven’t put the icing on so I’m going to freeze them. After I defrost them, I’ll ice them. Hopefully freezing them won’t change the delicate melt in your mouth texture.
Hi! I just made these for our New Year’s party. I’m debating either freezing them or frosting them and keeping them on the counter in an airtight container until the party. Do these cookies last up to two weeks in an airtight container like other melting moment cookie recipes I’ve seen?
Two weeks is a long time for any cookie, so I guess I’d suggest freezing. Next time you might consider making the balls and freezing them unbaked. Then you can bake and coat closer to when you need them.
This is a wonderful cookie! Mine turned out just like yours! I did add from grated bittersweet chocolate on top, a tip I got from you mom’s Melting Moments recipe. They look as beautiful as they taste! Thank you so much!