Christmas Coconut Crunch Cookies

Christmas Cupcake Murder

DO NOT preheat oven - dough must chill before baking.

**Hannah's 1st Note: This recipe makes approximately 10 dozen cookies. If you like, you can reduce the yield to approximately 5 dozen, by cutting each ingredient by half.**

## Ingredients

* 2 cups melted butter ***(4 sticks, 16 ounces, 1 pound)***
* 2 cups powdered sugar ***(don't sift unless it's got big lumps and then you shouldn't use it anyway)***
* 1 cup white ***(granulated)*** sugar
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon coconut extract
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon cream of tartar ***(critical)***
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
* 1 cup white chocolate or vanilla baking chips
* 4 additional cups flour ***(don't sift -- pack it down in the cup when you measure it)***
* 1/2 cup decorators sugar in a small bowl ***(for coating dough balls)***

## Directions

1. Melt the butter in a microwave-safe mixing bowl. Place the mixing bowl on your kitchen counter.
2. Add both of the sugars and mix thoroughly. Let the mix cool to room temperature.
3. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg is added.
4. Add the vanilla extract and coconut extract. Mix them in thoroughly.
5. Sprinkle in the baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Stir until they are well mixed in.
6. With the steel blade in place on your food processor, sprinkle in 1 Tablespoon of flour.
7. Measure out the sweetened coconut flakes and add them to the food processor on top of the flour. Now add the white chocolate chips on top of the coconut.
8. Sprinkle the remaining Tablespoon of flour on top of the white chocolate chips.
9. Use an on-and-off motion with the steel blade to process the coconut/white chocolate chip mixture. Continue to process until everything has been chopped into very small pieces.
10. **Hannah's 2nd Note: One of the reasons that some people don't care for coconut in cookies is that the coconut flakes stick between their teeth. Chopping the coconut up into tiny pieces eliminates that problem.**
11. Transfer the finely chopped, flour-coated coconut/white chocolate chip mixture to your mixing bowl. Stir thoroughly.
12. Add the remainder of the flour in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition.
13. Use your impeccably clean hands to round up the cookie dough into a ball.
14. Place the cookie dough in a sealable plastic bag and refrigerate it for at least one hour. ***(Overnight is fine, too.)***
15. When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees F. with the rack in the middle position.
16. Prepare your cookie sheets by spraying them with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray. Alternatively, you can line them with parchment paper, leaving a little ear at the top and a little ear at the bottom so that you can easily pull the parchment paper, cookies and all, to a wire rack after they are baked.
17. Place the white decorators sugar in a shallow bowl.
18. Use your impeccably clean hands to roll the dough into walnut-sized balls.
19. Roll each dough ball in the bowl of decorators sugar to coat it.
20. Place the sugar-coated dough balls on the cookie sheets you've prepared, 12 cookies on each standard-sized cookie sheet.
21. Flatten the dough balls with the back of a metal spatula or the palm of your impeccably clean hand.
22. Bake your Christmas Coconut Crunch Cookies at 325 degrees F. for 10 to 15 minutes. ***(The cookies should have a tinge of light golden brown on the tops and outer edges.)***
23. Remove the cookies from the oven and transfer them, still on the cookie sheets, to cold stovetop burners or wire racks on the kitchen counter.
24. Cool the cookies on their cookie sheets for 2 minutes and then remove them to wire racks to cool completely.

Yield: Approximately 8 to 10 dozen buttery, sugary cookies.