Prep time: 45 min • Cook time: 10 – 12 min • Yield: About 16 - 18 cookies, will vary based on the size of cookie cutter(s) Equipment 

• Stand mixer
• Sheet pan(s)
• Parchment paper or silicone baking mat(s)

• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
• 1/3 cup coconut butter
• ½ cup raw honey
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons coconut flour

• Natural food dyes (optional)
• Creamy Vanilla Frosting (optional)
• Unsweetened shredded coconut for decorating (optional)
• Miniature Paleo chocolate chips i.e. Enjoy Life brand (optional)

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer put melted coconut oil, coconut butter, and honey. Mix for about 2 to 3 minutes until well blended and coconut butter has fully blended into the liquid ingredients.
2. Add eggs and vanilla extract and mix well.
3. Add coconut flour and mix, stopping to scrape down bowl, until the flour is completely blended into liquid ingredients. Blend until the mixture becomes smooth and glossy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Gather dough into a ball and put in a covered container. Refrigerate for at least one hour or put in the freezer for 25 minutes before rolling out.
5. Line baking sheet(s) with parchment or silicone mat(s).
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place racks in top and bottom thirds of the oven.
7. Remove about ¼ of the dough, leaving the rest in the refrigerator, and roll between two sheets of parchment or waxed paper to about ¼-inch thick. Using a cookie cutter cut out cookies and place on baking sheet. Continue rolling out dough in batches, always keeping remaining dough refrigerated.
8. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not remove cookies from cookie sheet until they are cool or they may break.

Notes and tips: Facts about coconut flour: I’ve offered this note in other recipes using coconut flour, but it never hurts to restate it, especially to those new to baking with coconut flour. Cookies made with coconut flour are soft, not crispy. They tend to have more of a cake-like texture. There are many factors that are different between baking with coconut flour than with grain flours.

Coconut flour is essentially the fiber from the coconut meat after almost all the oil has been extracted to make coconut oil; thus it is very dry and needs about twice the hydration of wheat flour. Baking with coconut flour also requires more eggs and sticky binders such as honey, maple syrup, coconut nectar, etc. Why room temperature eggs you ask? The whites and yolks of room temperature eggs will combine easier when whisking. This means the eggs will disperse more evenly into the batter.

Because eggs trap air the result will be a lighter texture. When baking with coconut flour, room temperature eggs will make a difference in the final texture. Since coconut flour baked goods can sometimes come out too dense, room temperature eggs will make them lighter and fluffier. To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, soak them in a bowl of warm water for 10 to 15 minutes.

In cutting out the cookies, they may remain in the cookie cutter. Gently place them on the baking sheet, by holding the cookie cutter just above the parchment and use your fingertips to release them from the cookie cutter. After every few cookies, wipe the cookie cutter edge to keep it clean and easier to use. Don’t remove from the cookie sheet until they are fully cooled; they are apt to break if moved while still warm.

These cookies deserve to be frosted with Creamy Vanilla Frosting.  You can add natural food dyes and pipe fanciful decorations or frost the entire cookie and optionally top with shredded coconut. If you’re using animal cutouts, miniature chocolate chips make great “eyes”, and shredded coconut makes great “fur” and “feathers”.  

You can optionally use this dough for thumb prints or coconut gems:

For thumb print cookies: Roll about 1 ½ tablespoons dough (a bit smaller than a golf ball) between your hands to form a ball. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet and, using your thumb, press an indentation into the center of the cookie. Fill thumb print with miniature chocolate chips and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

For coconut gems: Place a sheet of parchment paper on the counter and pour out about ½ cup shredded coconut onto parchment. Roll about 1 ½ tablespoons dough (a bit smaller than a golf ball) between your hands to form a ball.  Place cookie in coconut and flatten into a round with the palm of your hand, to cover cookie with shredded coconut. Turn cookie pressing other side into coconut to cover. Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 10 to 12 minutes.