Looking for the ultimate Coconut Biscuits Recipe? That was me, too. Until I found this one!
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The (perfect) recipe for Coconut Biscuits
I have to admit my expectations weren't high when I first found this recipe in Nana Ling's handwritten cookbook. It just seemed too simple. Way too easy.
But these biscuits blew me away!
Yum!
- The recipe produces a sweet biscuit with a crunchy shell, chewy centre and plenty of coconut goodness.
- You'll also love this recipe because it's super easy, takes just 5 minutes to whip up the mixture and the baking time is just 15 minutes.
If you're a fan of coconut biscuits, it's definitely worth investing 20 minutes of your day to create a batch of Nana Ling's old fashioned coconut biscuits.
Okay, have I sold you?
Let's get going with the recipe.
Pictured above is Nana Ling's easy 3-ingredient recipe. I've made a few tiny tweaks, including the oven temperature, so keep scrolling to find the recipe card at the bottom of this post rather than relying on the original recipe pictured below. Plus you'll find plenty of useful tips in the updated recipe.
Ingredient notes
The ingredients you'll need are:
- desiccated coconut – the unsweetened variety
- caster sugar – also known as superfine sugar
- eggs – fresh is best and always try to use eggs at room temperature when baking.
That's right. This is a 3-ingredient recipe!
The ingredient measurements can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
(No coconut in the cupboard? Make Meringue Kisses instead with just sugar and egg whites.)
How to make Coconut Biscuits
The method is simple. Super, super simple.
It's all in the recipe card below.
But I'm going to run through it all here too in detail (there aren't many!)
Prepping
Pre-heat the oven to moderate (180 degrees celsius/355 degrees fahrenheit).
(Yes, Nana Ling's original recipe says bake in a hot oven but I found a hot oven burnt the biscuits. Moderate is perfect.)
Grease the baking trays. You'll need two of them.
Mixing
Place the coconut and sugar into a mixing bowl and whisk together to combine well.
Beat the eggs lightly and add to the mixture.
Mix well with a wooden spoon to form a soft, dough-like consistency.
Spoon out the mixture (about a tablespoon) and shape into small balls.
TIP: If the mixture is too soft to form balls, add a little extra coconut or place in the fridge for 15 minutes before attempting to roll again.
You should end up with about 18 balls in total.
Place at least 5cm apart on the baking trays. This leaves room for the biscuits to spread.
Baking
Okay, into the pre-heated oven they go.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Allow these biscuits to cool completely on the trays.
TIP: Use a spatula to gently lift the biscuits from the tray if necessary.
Variation ideas
This is absolutely my go-to recipe. It's quick, easy and the results are excellent.
It reminded me of a principle one of my first bosses used to remind me of regularly, the KISS ("Keep it simple, stupid") principle.
It really does pay to cut out unnecessary complexity and do it the simple way.
However, if you do want to switch things up a bit, here are some ideas for how you can adapt this recipe:
- Substitute the sugar with a sugar sweetener. I haven't tried this myself, so I'd love to hear from you in the comments below if you do try this substitution.
- Add some lemon zest when adding the egg for lemon coconut biscuits.
- Drizzle some melted chocolate over the biscuits once they are cooled for some added indulgence.
Recipe FAQs
Store biscuits in an airtight container for up to a week.
Freeze biscuits for up to 3 months. Make sure biscuits are completely cooled before wrapping individually and freezing in an airtight container.
And if you love this recipe, you might also like one of these recipes: Coconut Ice, Coconut Cake, Mars Bar Slice, Jelly Slice, Chocolate Ripple Cake, Cornflake Cookies, Cream Scones, Iced Vovos and Honey Joys.
Coconut Biscuits
Equipment
- 2 baking trays
Ingredients
- 125 grams desiccated coconut (unsweetened) (1 ½ cups)
- 215 grams caster sugar (superfine sugar) (1 cup)
- 2 medium-sized (60 gram) eggs (100 ml whisked egg)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to moderate (180 degrees celsius/355 degrees fahrenheit).
- Grease baking trays.
- Place coconut and sugar into a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Beat eggs lightly and add to the mixture. Mix well with a wooden spoon to form a soft, dough-like consistency.
- Spoon out mixture (about a tablespoon) and shape into small balls. (See tip 2 below if your mixture isn't holding together.) Place at least 5cm apart on baking trays.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees celsius (fan-forced).
- Allow to cool completely in trays.
Video
Notes
- Make sure you use unsweetened desiccated coconut rather than shredded coconut or coconut flakes.
- If mixture is too soft to form balls, add a little extra coconut or place in the fridge for 15 minutes before attempting to roll again.
- Use a spatula to gently lift the biscuits from the tray if necessary.
James Ridge says
These were terible the sugar ran out from the biscuite and welded to the bottom of the try.
All the lot went in the bin.
Never again, back to Merry Berry.
Kee S says
Amazing! Made these yesterday and could have finished them there and then. Amazing treat! Came out perfect.
Libby Hakim says
One of my personal favourite recipes on the site 🙂 Enjoy, Kee!
Maureen says
Thanks for this recipe, it was very easy just what I wanted. I used icing sugar mix that was left over from a cake mix instead of the fine caster sugar. I used a very small ice-cream scoop to form the biscuits. I had to cook for a few extra minutes. The biscuits were perfect, this is unusual for me as I don't usually do much baking.
Libby Hakim says
Well done, Maureen! Thanks for taking the time to leave a rating and review. Enjoy your coconut biscuits 🙂
Carol. L. Crane says
I made these & they were delicious. my eggs were bigger than the recipe required so I added more coconut to get the consistency needed to roll into balls. They turned out perfect. Everyone lived them. All with just 3 ingredients.
Libby Hakim says
Awesome! Thanks for the rating and review, Carol. Much appreciated.
Valhe Kouneli says
I tried this recipe exactly as written, weighing everything, except I don't have a fan forced oven and my eggs weighed 130 g in total. I also might have whipped the eggs a bit too much. I actually weighed my eggs and added half a yolk and half an eggwhite to reach 120 g but overshot by 10 g.
When the dough seemed a bit too wet, I added more coconut, as per tip number 2. I used medium desiccated coconut.
The first batch somewhat spread out in the oven. I took it out after 8 minutes, as the the edges started to blacken and the top looked golden brown. After they cooled down, I cut out the blackened edges with kitchen scissors. The taste was great, and the texture ok: a bit soft on the inside but nice an chewy, crispy/firm on the outside.
I had some dough left after the first batch, so I experimented by adding a bit of potato flour to the dough. This time the biscuits did not spread as much, although still a little bit. I was able to keep them in the oven longer, about 12 minutes. The taste was even better than the first batch, as the potato flour added a nice subtle flavor to the coconut. The texture was much better this time. Much softer and more biscuit-like. I'll probably add potato flour in the future as well. My partner really loved these. According to him, the version with the potato flour was "more melt-in-the-mouth".
As a final experiment, I put the first batch back in the oven (the blackened edges cut out) for about four minutes. They firmed up a bit and got more flavor as they got toasted a bit more.
If I did this recipe again but did not have potato flour, I would use exactly two eggs (~95 g in my case) and whisk it by hand to avoid overwhisking. I'd also use extra fine desiccated coconut. All in all, a nice recipe.