Almond Coconut Cookies
- 11/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons) cool, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1/2 cup almond paste (4 ounces)
- 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
Instructions:
This dessert is a delicious crunchy almond-coconut wafer dipped in melted chocolate.
- Position the rack in the top third of the oven; preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread the coconut on a large baking sheet and toast in the center of the oven until lightly browned and very fragrant, about 8 minutes, tossing quite often so that the coconut toasts evenly and doesn’t burn. Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Maintain the oven’s temperature.
- Place the sugar and salt in a large bowl. (If you’re using a stand mixer, do this step in the mixer’s bowl.) Cut in the butter and almond paste with a pastry cutter or two forks, much as you would cut shortening into a piecrust dough, until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
- Beat the mixture with an electric mixer at medium speed until softened, light, and evenly textured, if still a bit grainy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then the almond extract until smooth. Finally, beat in the coconut just until evenly distributed. Remove the beaters, scraping off any batter that adheres to them.
- Stir in the flour, using a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula, just until incorporated but not sticky. The dough will be firm, somewhat stiff—if your hands are clean, you can also work the flour in by hand without making the dough too stiff. Bring the dough together in a ball, then divide in half.
- Lay a large sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper on a clean, dry work surface, then place one of the dough halves on top of it. Cover with a second large sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper. Use your palms and flattened fingers to press the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick circle, about 5 inches in diameter. Remove the top sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper, then trim the circle to a 4-inch square. Cut this square into rectangular sticks that are 4 inches long and 3/4 inch wide. Transfer these sticks to a large, ungreased baking sheet, preferably nonstick, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Gather the scraps together and continue this process with the scraps and the other ball of dough, making more 4-inch by 3/4-inch sticks, each 1/2 inch thick.
- Bake in the top third of the oven for about 10 minutes until lightly browned and firm. Cool on the baking sheet for 1 minute, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Cool the baking sheet for 5 minutes before baking additional batches.
- When the cookies are cooled, place the chocolate in the top half of a double boiler set over about 2 inches of simmering water, or in a large bowl that fits very securely over a large pot with a similar amount of simmering water. Stir until less than half the chocolate has melted, then remove the double boiler’s top half or the bowl from the heat. Be careful of escaping steam, which can burn your hands or condense in the chocolate and cause it to seize. Continue stirring off the heat until the chocolate has fully melted. Transfer the chocolate to a clean, dry, large bowl; cool for 5 minutes.
- Lay a large sheet of wax paper on your work surface. Dip a cookie into the chocolate, coating one of its long sides, preferably the “bottom” side, the one that lays against the baking sheet. Gently scrape the cookie against the side of the bowl to create a thin, even layer of chocolate, then place the cookie, chocolate side down, on the wax paper. Continue with the remaining cookies.
- When all the cookies have been dipped, use a pastry brush to paint the tops fairly heavily with melted chocolate, so that some of the chocolate drips over and coats the sides of the cookies. Let the coated cookies rest undisturbed until the chocolate coating sets, about 2 hours. It will help if you transfer them to a cool part of the house to set up.