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If you love one-bowl, no-mixer, cookies with crisp edges and chewy centers, raise your hand. Hello, Lemon Coconut Sugar Cookies!
Wondering if your long-lost friend, that crazy cooking girl from The Café Sucre Farine has disappeared off the face of the earth? I don't blame you one bit. She hasn't disappeared permanently, just has been in the midst of the whirlwind. Scott and I are relocating from Raleigh, where we've lived for the past 37 years, to the mountains of North Carolina, near Asheville. We are back and forth between the two homes until we close on the Raleigh house in mid-August. Our personal belongings (including kitchen equipment) is divided between the two places and, on top of that, the mountain house is still without internet. Consequently, there hasn't been a lot of time and/or ability for cooking and blogging. I did manage, however, to make several batches of these super easy, super delicious Lemon Coconut Sugar Cookies last week. And when everyone fell in love after the first bite, I knew I had to share this recipe with you!
Let the kids loose with this easy cookie recipe!
In addition to making 11 trips to Asheville (4 hours from Raleigh) in the past few months, we've also had the pleasure of spending sweet time with our children and grandchildren. A few of the grandkids spent last week with us, and I had a wonderful assistant with these Lemon Coconut Sugar Cookies, our second oldest granddaughter, Elle.
Actually, in all fairness, I should probably call myself the assistant - Elle did most of the work in this baking endeavor. Either way, we had lots of fun together and she declared that these cookies were most "definitely blog-worthy" (the highest accolade possible at The Café kitchen).
Café Tips for making these Lemon Coconut Sugar Cookies
- Unlike most cookie recipes, you want to start with cold butter for these Lemon Coconut Sugar Cookies. You will partially melt the butter in the microwave (or on the stovetop). This is what makes it a one-bowl, no-mixer recipe. The butter has to be slightly liquid, but not completely melted, to create the right consistency for scooping and baking.
- These Lemon Coconut Sugar Cookies include the finely grated zest from two lemons. I use my Microplane zester/grater for this. It's a wonderful, inexpensive tool to have for zesting any kind of citrus; and it also works well for chocolate, garlic, ginger and more.
- Once the lemons are zested, go ahead and squeeze out all the juice. Zested citrus dries out quickly and you don't want to waste that delicious juice. You'll only need a tablespoon for the cookies, but lemon juice can be frozen for future use.
- If you like your cookies with crisp edges and chewy interiors, be careful to not overbake them. Remove them from the oven right when the edges are slightly golden (about 13-15 minutes). If you like your cookies crisp all the way through, bake them a few minutes longer.
- I like to use a cookie scoop for consistent size cookies. It makes scooping up the dough super quick and easy. I have a selection of different sized scoops so I can make small, medium or large cookies.
- The recipe calls for Demerara or Turbinado sugar to roll the balls of dough in before baking. These are both coarse sugars which give the cookies a little extra crunch. Feel free to use regular sugar if you don't have or can't find either of the coarser sugars. Demerara and Turbinado sugars can be found in most larger grocery stores in the same section as the granulated sugar.
Check out seasonal recipes we've posted in the past in July...
1 year ago - 10-Minute Summer Berry Galette
2 years ago - My Favorite Trick for Summer Herbs
3 years ago - Lemon, Garlic, and Rosemary Chicken Skewers
If you love one-bowl, no-mixer, cookies with crisp edges and chewy centers, raise your hand. Hello, Lemon Coconut Sugar Cookies!
- ½ cup Demerara, Turbinado or raw sugar for rolling
- 1 cup cold butter
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- finely grated zest from two medium-size lemons
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
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Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper for easy cleanup. Pour ½ cups Demerara or Turbinado sugar in a shallow bowl. You can use regular granulated sugar if you can't find Demerara or Turbinado. See Café Tips above.
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Place butter in a microwave-safe medium-large bowl and microwave on high power until partially melted, about 45 seconds. (see Café Tips above).
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Remove from microwave and add the 1 ½ cups sugar. Stir until well blended then add egg, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Stir again until the egg is completely incorporated.
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Sprinkle baking soda, baking powder, salt, flour, and coconut over the top of the butter mixture and stir just until all of the flour is incorporated. Be sure to check the bottom of the bowl to make sure all flour is mixed in.
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Scoop up the dough (I use a cookie scoop) into roll 2 tablespoon balls and roll them in the Demerara or Turbinado sugar. Place sugared balls on the prepared baking sheet, spacing approximately 2 inches apart.
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Bake for 13-15 minutes or until just barely golden at the edges. Don't overbake. Allow to cool on the pan for 2-3 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Store in an airtight container.
See Café Tips (above in post) for further instructions and tips.
Adapted from Real Housemoms.
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Carol says
FIVE STARS! Wow, these are scrumpcious. Thank you!
Lindsay @ The Café Sucre Farine says
Yay! Thanks for letting us know, Carol!
Rebecca says
5-Star recipe! This will become one of my favorite recipes! I made them for church. I’m sure I’ll have some requests for the recipe.
They have the tang of the lemon that contrasts nicely with the crunch of the sugar. Yum!!
Chris Scheuer says
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know, Rebecca 🙂
Kathy Duke says
Just made these yummy cookies , they taste lovely but ….. they did not go flat like biscuits!!
I rolled them into balls and placed on baking tray in oven …. They stayed in ball shaped lol
This is the first time this has happened to me …. Strange but still yummy
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Kathy, it's hard to say without having been right there in the kitchen with you. It sounds like too much flour but I can't say for sure.
Trina Johnson says
I made these cookies and they're so good. They are soft on the inside with a little bit of a hard covering. I made them smaller so I would have more to go around.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Trina!
Amy says
Chris, can I omit the coconut? If so, will that alter the recipe?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Amy, you could skip the coconut and they will still be delicious!
Rebecca says
I have made these cookies twice and they were amazing! I loved the chewy but crispy texture. This will definitely go in my regular cookie baking rotation! As much as I love lemon, my kids have asked if this could be adapted to make a chocolate cookie (they love the chewy texture too but love chocolate)? Any suggestions how to do that? I wondered if a more experienced baker would know how to do this. Thanks in advance! Now off to try some of your other recipes!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Rebecca, I would have to test this recipe with chocolate before I could give you advice on this. We do have these two recipes though, which are delicious!
https://thecafesucrefarine.com/flourless-toffee-chocolate-cookies/
https://thecafesucrefarine.com/chocolate-sugar-cookies/
rebecca says
Thanks, I will check them out!
Booge says
Love Lemons🍋
I often ask for labels from you guys because your cookies are fun to bake and lots of choices and fun to give out as gifts. Is there a way you guys could just have a place we could choose labels from the recipes we choose?
Merci et Bonne Journée
With live from Montréal,Québec
Booge
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Booge,
There’s not, at this time. We don’t mind at all send you labels though for the recipes you request. I don’t have labels for all of my recipes, just the ones that mention it in the post.
Dhipanee Mayes says
Let me start off by saying that your cookie recipes are delightful. I have made many of them. I just made these cookies today and they did not turn out as well as expected. I live in Colorado at high altitude, so I ended up having to make a few adjustments. I original cookies made following the recipe produced cookie balls out of the oven. They did not spread at all. I attempted to flatten some of them before they went into the oven and that helped a little, but they were still too thick and dense. Not light like a lemon cookie should be. I ended up reducing the flour to 2.5 cups. That did the trick. They spread nicely in the oven and produced a cookie that was nice and crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. I wish there was a little more lemon flavor to it, so I might add a little more juice into the next batch.
Chris Scheuer says
Thank you, Dhipanee for your kind words. I'm so happy you share your adaptations for high altitude with us as I'm sure it will be helpful to other readers who live in the mountains. We live in the mountains of NC but are just at 2600 ft and the altitude does not seem to affect any of my baking.
Regarding the lemon flavor, you might want to add the zest of an additional lemon as adding juice might affect the texture of the cookies. Thanks again!
Sarah says
Amazing and delicious cookies! The texture of the cookie is spot on and the flavor is absolutely delicious!! Can't beat a one-bowl recipe that comes out sooooo good!
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Thanks for sharing, Sarah 😊
Erin Blakely says
Delightful and delicious! I'm a sucker for anything LEMON and these cookies hit the spot! Very easy to make and the results are great!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Erin! So happy you had great results 💕
Catherine A Chun says
Wonderful cookie. I tripled lemon juice and added more coconut for extra punch and it worked well. I bet you could use lime if you don't have lemon. Try this recipe!!!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Catherine, for sharing your results! Yes, I think these could be great with lime!
Lily.Q says
Great cookies! Just came out of the oven and are smelling delicious! Will definitely make them again!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Lily! I appreciate your taking the time to leave a comment!
Marie says
Delicious! I halved the recipe and it made 24 with my small cookie scoop. I accidentally added the full amount of lemon juice but they still turned out great! Thank you- will definitely bake these again!
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! So happy you enjoyed these cookies, Marie! Thanks so much for sharing your results!
Bernie says
A new favorite of my 94 year old Dad. Made them twice already! Definitely better with fresh lemon juice and I used unsweetened coconut both times. Easy and reliable recipe 😊
Chris Scheuer says
That is so sweet that you make cookies for your dad! I know he loves that! Thanks for sharing your review, Bernie!
Sally Meitz says
I was looking for a “different” cookie recipe that used ingredients I had on hand, and I found it! Delicious! I looked at a lot of lemon-coconut recipes before I settled on this one. There were recipes that called for chilling the dough, recipes that called for toasting the coconut, recipes that only made 20 cookies...this one was just right. It’s a keeper!
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! Thanks so much, Sally, for taking the time to share your results! I'm so happy you enjoyed these cookies. We love them too!
Debbie Cabler says
If you are looking for a different cookie, you have to try these. I have never eaten a sugar cookie like these. Easy to make. Great recipe.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks, Debbie! We love these cookies too!
Rebecca Peters says
I just made a batch! I switch the lemon for lime (because that’s what I had in the house), and they turned out great! Love this recipe!
Chris Scheuer says
Yum, lime sounds wonderful! Thanks for sharing your results, Rebecca!
Gaye Kinneard says
They tasted really great - but for some reason the dough was too crumbly to roll into balls. I followed the recipe exactly but it seemed like it needed a little liquid so I could roll them?
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Gaye, It's hard to say what the problem is without having been right there in the kitchen with you, Gaye. Your flour measurement might have been a bit heavy. Did you stir the flour to lighten it before scooping? Not doing that can sometimes cause the dough to be crumbly as you'll end up with too much flour.
Kelly says
Just finished baking these, and they look and smell fabulous. Your recipe was spot on with timing and as easy a cookie recipe I can remember making ( and I make alot of late night cookies after work). Can't wait to taste them.
Chris Scheuer says
Yay! So happy you had success with these, Kelly! Hope you enjoy them!
Deidre says
Baked cookies for my grandchildren today. Yummy.
First batch, thought dough balls would melt and flatten in oven but it stayed puffy. I flattened the second batch, came out a bit crunchy, but still good.
Recipe a keeper for me.
Will have to email copy of recipe when I get home to South Africa to my grandsons in NZ, so they can get baking.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much, Deidre, for sharing your results. I'm so happy you enjoyed them and I love that this recipe is traveling round the world!
Rebecca says
Was searching for a thin lemon coconut cookie and this worked out great! I chilled the batter in the fridge a few minutes so they wouldn’t spread too thin but they did anyway. Mine turned out much flatter than yours but that’s what I wanted- crispy thin with chewy center! Yum 😋
Family enjoyed them very much- re Ike is a keeper- thank you!
Chris Scheuer says
So happy to hear you enjoyed these cookies, Rebecca! Thanks for taking the time to let us know!
Terri Simon says
I made these last night. They taste ok and I like the crunch of the sugar, but they don't have the texture or appearance that yours do. I'm not sure what went wrong--I followed the recipe exactly with the possible exception of the coconut. The coconut I used is the larger "chips" that I get at Kroger (unsweetened Simple Truth organic coconut chips). Maybe the coconut wasn't moist enough or was too large. I made the first pan of cookies too big. The balls of dough never settled--they baked up as big, kind of dense puffs that never flattened out as they cooled. I made the rest smaller, and flattened them out a little before putting them in the oven, but they turned out just the same--a little dense without any of the crackled appearance you get when a cookie cools and flattens. I just had two for breakfast and I can tell they are going to dry out quickly. They already feel like a cookie that was baked days ago, rather than just last night. I know it is next to impossible to diagnose the problem from an online comment, and since nobody else seems to have had a problem, I will assume I did something wrong. I think I should have sifted and weighed the flour rather than just do a dip into the flour canister and then level it off. It's the only thing I can think of.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Terri, so sorry these didn't turn out well for you. You're right, it's almost impossible to say what went wrong without having been right there in the kitchen with you. I hope you try them again and have great results!