It’s Day 12 of my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies Series! And for my last cookie for our Christmas cookie box, I’ve made these chocolate coconut sandwich cookies. Imagine a soft, dark chocolate sugar cookie, filled with fluffy coconut buttercream, that’s like the best homemade Oreo you’ve ever tasted. To make them extra fancy, I stamped the dough with cookie stamps, and they look so beautiful and festive.
If you missed the other Christmas cookies in this cookie box series, make sure you check tomorrow’s post for a roundup of all 12 recipes! From biscotti to shortbread to homemade caramels, there’s sure to be a treat to please everyone.
Looking for more recipes like this? Don’t miss these chocolate coconut cupcakes, coconut cream pie, and white chocolate coconut truffles.
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Ingredients
Chocolate Sugar Cookies.
- All-Purpose Flour. Gives the cookies structure and strength.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens the cookies, while the fine texture keeps them soft and tender.
- Dutch-Processed Cocoa Powder. I use Dutch-processed cocoa powder in all of my baking, as it has a richer color and mellow chocolate flavor.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness and enhances the flavor of the chocolate.
- Unsalted Butter. Adds richness and moisture and creates flaky layers in the sugar cookies.
- Vanilla. Vanilla extract adds flavor and enhances the flavor of the chocolate.
- Milk. Moistens the dough and binds it together.
Coconut Frosting.
- Unsalted Butter. When whipped with the powdered sugar, the butter becomes light and fluffy for a beautifully textured buttercream.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the frosting.
- Vanilla + Coconut Extracts. Flavor. I love using vanilla bean paste in this buttercream, too.
- Coconut Cream. Instead of milk, add extra coconut flavor by using coconut cream to thin the buttercream to desired consistency.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
Equipment and Tools
- Food Processor. This dough is easiest and quickest to make in a food processor. But if you don’t have one, you will need to use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour, and then your hands to work the liquid into the dough.
- Cookie Stamps. These chocolate coconut sandwich cookies are simply beautiful when you press designs into the cookies with cookie stamps. The stamps I used for pressing my cookies are from the Nordic Ware Holiday collection and the Heirloom cookie stamp collection. I also have their Starry Nights cookie stamps, which I used in these stamped chocolate cookies with coffee glaze, and that design is simply stunning.
- Rolling Pin, Bench Scraper and Cookie Cutters. If you decide to just roll and cut the dough instead of pressing it with cookie stamps, you’ll need a rolling pin and a bench scraper. Round or fluted cookie cutters that are approximately 2 – 2 1/2 inches in diameter are best for these chocolate sandwich cookies.
- Baking Sheets + Parchment Paper. Always line your baking sheets with parchment paper to ensure the cookies don’t stick or spread while baking.
Instructions
Make the Chocolate Sugar Cookie Dough.
Sugar cookie dough is so quick and easy to make in a food processor. It comes together in a breeze, with the butter evenly distributed in the dough for a soft, supple cookie dough. If you don’t have one, though, you’ll need to use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour, then use your hands to work the liquid into the dough.
After making the dough, wrap it and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Press the Cookie Dough with Cookie Stamps.
These chocolate coconut sandwich cookies look so beautiful with the contrast between the dark chocolate cookie and the creamy white coconut frosting. But they’re even prettier if you stamp the dough with Nordic Ware cookie stamps. This is a no-spread chocolate sugar cookie recipe, so it holds its shape, and the impression of the stamped design perfectly.
If you don’t feel inclined to use cookie stamps, you can certainly just roll out the dough and cut it with cookie cutters.
Chill the Cut Cookies and Bake.
After stamping and cutting the cookies, chill them right on the baking sheets before baking, to ensure they don’t spread or lose their shape in the oven. Be sure to cool completely after baking, before filling with the buttercream.
Fill with Coconut Buttercream
The coconut buttercream is quick and easy to make with an electric mixer, and is the perfect sweet finish to these dark chocolate sugar cookies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can chocolate sugar cookie dough be made in advance and frozen?
Yes, absolutely! Just wrap it in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze for 3-6 months, until needed.
Can these cookies be frozen?
These cookies freeze beautifully, either without the coconut buttercream, or filled. Just store in an airtight container for 3-6 months, and they will taste freshly baked when you thaw them out.
How many cookies does this recipe make?
This makes about 26 cookies, or 13 assembled sandwich cookies.
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Chocolate and Coconut Cream Sandwich Cookies
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Food Processor or Pastry Cutter
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup whole milk
Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 ½ – 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tsp coconut extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-4 tbsp coconut cream (see note)
- ⅛ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
Instructions
Cookies
- In a food processor, pulse the flour, powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt until combined.With the processor running, drop in the pieces of butter, one at a time. Pulse a few times until evenly distributed.Add the vanilla and milk. Process just until the dough comes together and sticks together in a ball.
- Note that if you don't have a food processor, you can make the dough in a bowl, using a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour mixture. Then use your hands to work in the liquid until it comes together into a dough.
- Turn the dough out, and knead a few times, just to fold in any floury bits. Shape the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 24 equal portions. They should be as close in size as possible, so it's helpful if you have a food scale, to weigh the dough, then weigh each portion so they're uniform in size.Roll each portion between your hands to shape a ball, and lightly dust each ball of dough in flour.Place the dough balls on several large baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Dip a cookie stamp in flour, then tap off the excess. Center the stamp over a ball of dough, then firmly press down on the dough, until it flattens and spreads out all the way to the edge of the stamp. Carefully pull the dough off the stamp and set onto the baking sheet.Use a round cookie cutter that's slightly smaller than the cookie stamp to cut the pressed cookies and trim off the uneven edges. Save the scraps.Repeat pressing all the cookies, dipping the stamp in flour and tapping off the excess in between each.
- Gather up all the scraps from the trimmed edges, roll into 2 more balls, dust in flour, and press 2 more cookies, for a total of 26 cookies.Place all the pressed cookies about 1 inch apart on the baking sheet.
- Set the baking sheet in the refrigerator and chill the pressed cookies for 1 hour. Chilling the dough prior to baking ensures that the dough maintains its shape in the oven and doesn't spread.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the chilled cookies on the center oven rack for 11 1/2 minutes.
- Cool the cookies on the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely before filling with the buttercream.
Frosting
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth. Add 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and the extracts, and mix on low to combine. Add 2 tablespoons of the coconut cream, and the salt.
- On medium speed, whip the frosting for about 5 minutes, until very light and fluffy. Add more powdered sugar or more coconut cream for desired consistency. This should be a bit thicker than what you would want for frosting a cake, since you want the buttercream to be soft, but stiff enough to not slide out of the cookie sandwiches.
- Turn half the cookies over. Generously spread or pipe the frosting onto the cookies, and then top with another cookie to make the sandwiches.
Notes
- Rolling the Dough: If you’re not using cookie stamps to press the cookie dough, you can skip those steps. Instead, simply roll out the dough to between 1/4-1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface, and use a round cookie cutter to cut out the cookies. Follow all other instructions for chilling, then baking the cookies.
- Storing Cookies: Leftover cookies should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
- Bake in Advance: They can also be baked in advance, wrapped well, and frozen for 3-6 months.
- Coconut Cream: Canned coconut cream is available on the ethnic food aisle next to the coconut milk at many grocery stores. You can also use the solid cream from a chilled can of coconut milk (draining off the water). Let the chilled cream warm up to room temperature again before adding to your frosting.
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