Coconut Snowball Melting Moments

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.

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

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11 ratings

Prep Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 26 minutes

Category: cookies, dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: Sue Moran

Yield: makes 34 cookies

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

1. set oven to 350F
2. 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.
3. Form the dough into a ball or a disk and wrap with plastic. Refrigerate for an hour.
4. 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.
5. When the cookies are completely cool, dab a little bit of frosting on top of each one, and top with coconut.
6. 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.

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